Burma, officially the
Union of Myanmar, is the largest country by geographical area in mainland
Southeast Asia or
Indochina. The country is bordered by
China on the northeast,
Laos on the east,
Thailand on the southeast,
Bangladesh on the west,
India on the northwest and the
Bay of Bengal to the southwest with the
Andaman Sea defining its southern periphery. One-third of Burma's total perimeter, 1,930 kilometres (1,199 mi), forms an uninterrupted
coastline.
The country's culture, heavily influenced by neighbours, is based on
Theravada Buddhism intertwined with
local elements. Burma's diverse population has played a major role in defining its politics, history and demographics in modern times, and the country continues to struggle to mend its
ethnic tensions. The military has dominated government since
General Ne Win led a coup in 1962 that toppled the civilian government of
U Nu. Burma remains under the tight control of the military-led
State Peace and Development Council.
Name
The name "Burma" is derived from the Burmese word "Bamar" (
ဗမာ|30px), which in turn is the colloquial form of Myanmar (
မြန်မာ|30px) (or Mranma in old
Burmese), both of which historically referred to the majority
Burmans (or the Bamar). Depending on the
register used the pronunciation would be “Bama” or
Myanmah. The name “Burma” has been in use in English since the time of
British colonial rule.
In 1989, the military government
officially changed the English translations of many colonial-era names, including the name of the country, to
"Myanmar". This prompted one scholar to coin the term "Myanmarification" to refer to the top-down programme of political and cultural reform in the context of which the renaming was done. The renaming remains a contested issue.
While some of the name changes are closer to their actual Burmese pronunciations, many opposition groups and countries continue to oppose their use in English because they recognize neither the legitimacy of the ruling military government nor its authority to rename the country or towns in English.
Various non-Burman ethnic groups choose to not recognize the name because the term Myanmar has historically been used as a label for the majority ethnic group rather than for the country.
Various world entities have chosen to accept or reject the name change. The
United Nations, of which Burma (under the name Myanmar) is a member, endorsed the name change five days after its announcement by the junta.
However, governments of many countries including the
United States, the
United Kingdom,
Australia,
France,
and
Canada still refer to the country as "Burma", with varying levels of recognition of the validity of the name change itself. Others, including the
Association of Southeast Asian Nations and the governments of
Germany,
Japan,
and
Russia recognise "Myanmar" as the official name.
Media usage is also mixed. In spite of the usage by the US government, some American news outlets including
The New York Times,
The Wall Street Journal, The
International Herald Tribune and
CNN, and international news agencies the
Associated Press,
Reuters and
Agence France-Presse have adopted the name "Myanmar". The name "Burma" is still widely used by other news outlets, including
Voice of America,
The Washington Post, the
BBC,
ITN,
The Times,
The Times of India and
Time. Other sources often use combined terms such as "Burma, also known as Myanmar." Some media outlets that use "Myanmar" refer to "Burma" as the nation's "colonial name."
"Myanmar" is the local short-form name
Myanmar Naingngandaw,
the name used by the regime currently in power in the country. While the etymology of the name is unclear, it has been used since the
13th century, primarily as a reference to the Myanma ethnic group. Until the mid-
19th century, rulers in the region identified themselves with the areas that they ruled. For example, the
18th century king,
Alaungpaya alternately referred to himself as the ruler of
Tampradipa and Thunaparanta,
Ramanadesa, and
Kamboza (all alternate names of places in the Irrawaddy Valley) in correspondence with the
East India Company.
The Court of Ava was the first to use this name to refer to its kingdom in the mid-19th Century, when its power was declining, when the kingdom was confined to the
Irrawaddy Valley which was predominantly Myanma in character, and at a time when the Myanma ethnic identity first began to develop a political identity.
In other European languages, Burma is known as , , and .
Confusion among English speakers on how to pronounce 'Myanmar' gives rise to pronunciations such as , , and . The BBC recommends or .
Geography
Burma, which has a total area of , is the largest country in mainland
Southeast Asia, and the 40th-largest in the world.
It is bordered to the northwest by
Chittagong Division of
Bangladesh and
Mizoram,
Manipur,
Nagaland and
Arunachal Pradesh of India to the northwest. It shares its longest borders with
Tibet to the north and
Yunnan of China to the northeast for a total of . It is bounded by
Laos and
Thailand to the southeast. Burma has of contiguous coastline along the
Bay of Bengal and
Andaman Sea to the southwest and the south, which forms one-third of its total perimeter.
, which is approximately in area, is largely used for rice cultivation.
]]
In the north, the
Hengduan Shan mountains form the border with China.
Hkakabo Razi, located in
Kachin State, at an elevation of , is the highest point in Burma. Three mountain ranges, namely the Rakhine Yoma, the Bago Yoma, and the
Shan Plateau exist within Burma, all of which run north-to-south from the
Himalayas.
The mountain chains divide Burma's three river systems, which are the
Ayeyarwady,
Salween (Thanlwin), and the
Sittaung rivers.
The Ayeyarwady River, Burma's longest river, nearly long, flows into the
Gulf of Martaban. Fertile plains exist in the valleys between the mountain chains.
The majority of Burma's population lives in the Ayeyarwady valley, which is situated between the Rakhine Yoma and the Shan Plateau.
thumb|left|220px|Limestone landscape of Mon State.
Much of the country lies between the
Tropic of Cancer and the
Equator. It lies in the
monsoon region of Asia, with its coastal regions receiving over of rain annually. Annual
rainfall in the
delta region is approximately , while average annual rainfall in the Dry Zone, which is located in central Burma, is less than . Northern regions of the country are the coolest, with average temperatures of . Coastal and delta regions have mean temperatures of .
The country's slow economic growth has contributed to the preservation of much of its environment and
ecosystems. Forests, including dense tropical growth and valuable
teak in lower Burma, cover over 49% of the country. Other trees indigenous to the region include
acacia,
bamboo,
ironwood,
mangrove,
michelia champaca coconut and
betel palm and
rubber has been introduced. In the highlands of the north,
oak,
pine and various
rhododendrons cover much of the land.
The lands along the coast support all varieties of
tropical fruits. In the Dry Zone, vegetation is sparse and stunted.
Typical
jungle animals, particularly
tigers and
leopards, are common in Burma. In upper Burma, there are
rhinoceros, wild
buffalo,
wild boars,
deer,
antelope, and
elephants, which are also tamed or bred in captivity for use as work animals, particularly in the
lumber industry. Smaller
mammals are also numerous, ranging from
gibbons and
monkeys to
flying foxes and
tapirs. The abundance of birds is notable with over 800 species, including
parrots,
peafowl,
pheasants,
crows,
herons, and
paddybirds. Among
reptile species there are
crocodiles,
geckos,
cobras,
Burmese pythons, and
turtles. Hundreds of species of
freshwater fish are wide-ranging, plentiful and are very important food sources.
History
Summary
After the
First Burmese War, the
Ava kingdom ceded the provinces of
Manipur, Tenassarim, and Arakan to the British.
and southern Burma were incorporated into
British India in 1853. All of Burma came directly or indirectly under
British India in 1886 after the
Third Burmese War and the fall of Mandalay.
Burma was administered as a province of
British India until 1937 when it became a separate, self-governing colony. The country became independent from the United Kingdom on 4 January 1948, as the
"Union of Burma". It became the
"Socialist Republic of the Union of Burma" on 4 January, 1974, before reverting to the
"Union of Burma" on 23 September 1988. On 18 June, 1989, the
State Law and Order Restoration Council (SLORC) adopted the name
"Union of Myanmar" for English transliteration. This controversial name change in English, while accepted in the
UN and in many countries, is not recognised by opposition groups and by nations such as the United Kingdom and the United States.
Early history
Archeological evidence suggests that civilization in the region which now forms Burma is quite old. The oldest archeological find was of
cave paintings and a
Holocene assemblage in a
hunter-gatherer cave site in
Padah Lin in Shan State.
The
Mon people are thought to be the earliest group to migrate into the lower
Ayeyarwady valley, and by the mid-900s BC were dominant in southern Burma.
The
Tibeto-Burman speaking
Pyu arrived later in the
1st century BC, and established several city states – of which
Sri Ksetra was the most powerful – in central Ayeyarwady valley. The Mon and Pyu kingdoms were an active overland
trade route between India and China. The Pyu kingdoms entered a period of rapid decline in early
9th century AD when the powerful kingdom of
Nanzhao (in present-day
Yunnan) invaded the Ayeyarwady valley several times.
Bagan (1044 – 1287)
Tibeto-Burman speaking
Burmans, or the
Bamar, began migrating to the Ayeyarwady valley from present-day
Yunnan's Nanzhao kingdom starting in
7th century AD. Filling the power gap left by the Pyu, the Burmans established a small kingdom centred in
Bagan in 849. But it was not until the reign of King
Anawrahta (1044 – 1077) that Bagan's influence expanded throughout much of present-day Burma.
After Anawrahta's capture of the Mon capital of
Thaton in 1057, the Burmans adopted Theravada Buddhism from the Mons. The
Burmese script was created, based on the
Mon script, during the reign of King
Kyanzittha (1084 – 1112). Prosperous from trade, Bagan kings built many magnificent temples and
pagodas throughout the country – many of which can still be seen today.
Bagan's power slowly waned in
13th century.
Kublai Khan's
Mongol forces invaded northern Burma starting in 1277, and sacked Bagan city itself in 1287. Bagan's over two century reign of Ayeyarwady valley and its periphery was over.
thumb|220px|right|Pagodas and temples continue to exist in present-day Bagan, the capital of the Bagan Kingdom.
Small kingdoms (1287 – 1531)
The Mongols could not stay for long in the searing Ayeyarwady valley. But the
Tai-Shan people from Yunnan who came down with the
Mongols fanned out to the
Ayeyarwady valley, Shan states,
Laos,
Siam and
Assam, and became powerful players in
Southeast Asia.
The Bagan empire was irreparably broken up into several small kingdoms:
- The Rakhine kingdom of Mrauk U (1434 – 1784), in the west.
- Several Shan states in the Shan hills in the east and the Kachin hills in the north while the northwestern frontier of present Chin hills still disconnected yet.
This period was characterized by constant warfare between Ava and Bago, and to a lesser extent, Ava and the Shans. Ava briefly controlled Rakhine (1379 – 1430) and came close to defeating Bago a few times, but could never quite reassemble the lost empire. Nevertheless, Burmese culture entered a golden age. Hanthawady Bago prospered. Bago's Queen Shin Saw Bu (1453 – 1472) raised the gilded
Shwedagon Pagoda to its present height.
By the late-
15th century, constant warfare had left Ava greatly weakened. Its peripheral areas became either independent or autonomous. In 1486, King
Minkyinyo (1486 – 1531) of
Taungoo broke away from Ava and established a small independent kingdom. In 1527,
Mohnyin (Shan: Mong Yang)
Shans finally captured Ava, upsetting the delicate power balance that had existed for nearly two centuries. The Shans would rule Upper Burma until 1555.
Taungoo (1531 – 1752)
Reinforced by fleeing Burmans from Ava, the minor Burman kingdom of
Taungoo under its young, ambitious king
Tabinshwehti (1531 – 1551) defeated the more powerful Mon kingdom at
Bago, reunifying all of
Lower Burma by 1540. Tabinshwehti's successor King
Bayinnaung (1551–1581) would go on to conquer
Upper Burma (1555),
Manipur (1556),
Shan states (1557),
Chiang Mai (1557),
Ayutthaya (1564, 1569) and
Lan Xang (1574), bringing most of western South East Asia under his rule. Bayinnaung died in 1581, preparing to invade
Rakhine, a maritime power controlling the entire coastline west of Rakhine Yoma, up to
Chittagong province in
Bengal.
Bayinnaung's massive empire unraveled soon after his death in 1581. Ayutthaya
Siamese had driven out the Burmese by 1593 and went on to take
Tanintharyi. In 1599,
Rakhine forces aided by the Portuguese mercenaries sacked the kingdom's capital
Bago. Chief Portuguese mercenary
Filipe de Brito e Nicote (Burmese:
Nga Zinga) promptly rebelled against his Rakhine masters and established Portuguese rule in
Thanlyin (Syriam), then the most important seaport in Burma. The country was in chaos.
The Burmese under King
Anaukpetlun (1605–1628) regrouped and defeated the Portuguese in 1611. Anaukpetlun reestablished a smaller reconstituted kingdom based in Ava covering Upper Burma, Lower Burma and Shan states (but without Rakhine or Taninthayi). After the reign of King Thalun (1629 – 1648), who rebuilt the war-torn country, the kingdom experienced a slow and steady decline for the next 100 years. The Mons successfully rebelled starting in 1740 with
French help and
Siamese encouragement, broke away Lower Burma by 1747, and finally put an end to the House of Taungoo in 1752 when they took
Ava.
Konbaung (1752 – 1885)
thumb|220px|right|A British 1825 lithograph of [[Shwedagon Pagoda reveals early British occupation in Burma during the
First Anglo-Burmese War.]]
King
Alaungpaya (1752 – 1760), established the
Konbaung Dynasty in
Shwebo in 1752. He founded
Yangon in 1755. By his death in 1760, Alaungpaya had reunified the country. In 1767, King
Hsinbyushin (1763 – 1777) sacked
Ayutthya. The
Qing Dynasty of China invaded four times from 1765 to 1769 without success. The Chinese invasions allowed the new Siamese kingdom based in Bangkok to repel the Burmese out of
Siam by the late 1770s.
King
Bodawpaya (1782 – 1819) failed repeatedly to reconquer Siam in 1780s and 1790s. Bodawpaya did manage to capture the western kingdom of
Rakhine, which had been largely independent since the fall of Bagan, in 1784. Bodawpaya also formally annexed
Manipur, a rebellion-prone protectorate, in 1813.
King
Bagyidaw's (1819 – 1837) general
Maha Bandula put down a rebellion in
Manipur in 1819 and captured then independent kingdom of
Assam in 1819 (again in 1821). The new conquests brought the Burmese adjacent to the British India. The British defeated the Burmese in the
First Anglo-Burmese War (1824 – 1826). Burma had to cede
Assam,
Manipur,
Rakhine (Arakan) and
Tanintharyi (Tenessarim).
In 1852, the British attacked a much weakened Burma during a Burmese palace power struggle. After the
Second Anglo-Burmese War, which lasted 3 months, the British had captured the remaining coastal provinces:
Ayeyarwady,
Yangon and
Bago, naming the territories as
Lower Burma.
King
Mindon (1853 – 1878) founded
Mandalay in 1859 and made it his capital. He skillfully navigated the growing threats posed by the competing interests of Britain and France. In the process, Mindon had to renounce
Kayah (Karenni) states in 1875. His successor, King
Thibaw (1878 – 1885), was largely ineffectual. In 1885, the British, alarmed by the French conquest of neighboring
Laos, occupied
Upper Burma. The
Third Anglo-Burmese War (1885) lasted a mere one month insofar as capturing the capital
Mandalay was concerned. The
Burmese royal family was exiled to
Ratnagiri, India. British forces spent at least another four years pacifying the country – not only in the Burmese heartland but also in the Shan,
Chin and
Kachin hill areas. By some accounts, minor insurrections did not end until 1896.
Colonial era (1886 – 1948)
The
British began conquering Burma in 1824. For a period of sixty-two years, Burma was under British control. By 1886, Britain had incorporated it into the
British Raj. Burma was administered as a province of
British India until 1937 when it became a separate, self-governing colony. To stimulate trade and facilitate changes, the British brought in
Indians and
Chinese, who quickly displaced the Burmese in urban areas. To this day
Rangoon and
Mandalay have large
ethnic Indian populations. Railroads and schools were built, as well as a large number of prisons, including the infamous
Insein Prison, then as now used for
political prisoners. Burmese resentment was strong and was vented in violent riots that paralyzed Yangon on occasion all the way until the 1930s. Much of the discontent was caused by a perceived disrespect for
Burmese culture and traditions, for example, what the British termed the Shoe Question: the colonizers' refusal to remove their shoes upon entering Buddhist temples or other holy places. In October 1919,
Eindawya Pagoda in Mandalay was the scene of violence when tempers flared after scandalized Buddhist monks attempted to physically expel a group of shoe-wearing British visitors. The leader of the monks was later sentenced to life imprisonment for attempted murder. Such incidents inspired the Burmese resistance to use
Buddhism as a rallying point for their cause. Buddhist monks became the vanguards of the independence movement, and many died while protesting. One monk-turned-martyr was
U Wisara, who died in prison after a 166-day hunger strike to protest a rule that forbade him from wearing his Buddhist robes while imprisoned.
Eric Blair (
George Orwell), served in the
Indian Imperial Police in Burma for five years; his experience yielded the novel
Burmese Days (1934) and the essays "
A Hanging" (1931) and "
Shooting an Elephant" (1936). An earlier writer with the same convoluted career path was
Saki. During the colonial period, intermarriage between European male settlers and Burmese women, as well as between Anglo-Indians (who arrived with the British) and Burmese caused the birth of the
Anglo-Burmese community. This influential community was to dominate the country during colonial rule and through the mid 1960's.
thumb|The Colonial Flag (1937 – 1948)On 1 April 1937, Burma became a separately administered territory, independent of the Indian administration. The vote for keeping Burma in India, or as a separate colony "khwe-yay-twe-yay" divided the populace, and laid the ground work for the insurgencies to come after independence. In the 1940s, the
Thirty Comrades, commanded by
Aung San, founded the
Burma Independence Army. The Thirty Comrades received training in Japan.
During
World War II, Burma became a major frontline in the
Southeast Asian Theatre. The British administration collapsed ahead of the advancing Japanese troops, jails and asylums were opened and Rangoon was deserted except for the many
Anglo-Burmese and Indians who remained at their posts. A stream of some 300,000 refugees fled across the jungles into India; known as 'The Trek', all but 30,000 of those 300,000 arrived in India. Initially the Japanese-led
Burma Campaign succeeded and the British were expelled from most of Burma, but the British counter-attacked using primarily troops of the
British Indian Army. By July 1945, the British had retaken the country. Although many Burmese fought initially for the Japanese, some Burmese, mostly from the ethnic minorities, also served in the British Burma Army. In 1943, the Chin Levies and
Kachin Levies were formed in the border districts of Burma still under British administration. The Burma Rifles fought as part of the
Chindits under
General Orde Wingate from 1943 to 1945. Later in the war, the Americans created
American-Kachin Rangers who also fought against the Japanese. Many others fought with the British
Special Operations Executive. The
Burma Independence Army under the command of
Aung San and the Arakan National Army fought with the Japanese from 1942 – 1944, but switched allegiance to the Allied side in 1945.
In 1947, Aung San became Deputy Chairman of the Executive Council of Burma, a transitional government. But in July 1947, political rivals assassinated
Aung San and several cabinet members.
Democratic republic (1948 – 1962)
On 4 January 1948, the nation became an independent
republic, named the
Union of Burma, with
Sao Shwe Thaik as its first President and
U Nu as its first Prime Minister. Unlike most other former British colonies and overseas territories, it did not become a member of the
Commonwealth. A
bicameral parliament was formed, consisting of a
Chamber of Deputies and a
Chamber of Nationalities.
The geographical area Burma encompasses today can be traced to the Panglong Agreement, which combined Burma Proper, which consisted of
Lower Burma and
Upper Burma, and the
Frontier Areas, which had been administered separately by the British.
In 1961,
U Thant, then the Union of Burma's Permanent Representative to the United Nations and former Secretary to the Prime Minister, was elected
Secretary-General of the United Nations; he was the first non-Westerner to head any international organization and would serve as UN Secretary-General for ten years.
Among the Burmese to work at the UN when he was Secretary-General was a young
Aung San Suu Kyi, winner of the 1991 Nobel peace prize.
Rule by military junta (1962 – present)
Democratic rule ended in 1962 when
General Ne Win led a military
coup d'état. He ruled for nearly 26 years and pursued policies under the rubric of the
Burmese Way to Socialism. Between 1962 and 1974, Burma was ruled by a revolutionary council headed by the general, and almost all aspects of society (business, media, production) were nationalized or brought under government control (including the
Boy Scouts).
In an effort to consolidate power, Ne Win and many other top generals resigned from the military and took civilian posts and, from 1974, instituted elections in a
one party system.
Between 1974 and 1988, Burma was effectively ruled by Ne Win through the
Burma Socialist Programme Party (BSPP),
which from 1964 until 1988 was the sole political party. During this period, Burma became one of the world's most impoverished countries. The Burmese Way to Socialism
combined
Soviet-style nationalization and
central planning with the governmental implementation of superstitious beliefs.
Criticism was scathing, such as an article published in a February 1974 issue of
Newsweek magazine describing the Burmese Way to Socialism as 'an amalgam of Buddhist and Marxist illogic'.
Almost from the beginning, there were sporadic protests against the military rule, many of which were organized by students, and these were almost always violently suppressed by the government. On 7 July 1962, the government broke up demonstrations at
Rangoon University, killing 15 students.
In 1974, the military violently suppressed anti-government protests at the funeral of
U Thant. Student protests in 1975, 1976 and 1977 were quickly suppressed by overwhelming force.
Ne Win's rise to power in 1962 and his relentless persecution of "resident aliens" (immigrant groups not recognised as citizens of the
Union of Burma) led to an exodus of some 300,000
Burmese Indians. They migrated to escape
racial discrimination and wholesale nationalisation of private enterprise a few years later in 1964.
A new
constitution of the Socialist Republic of the Union of Burma was adopted in 1974.
Hundreds of thousands of
Rohingya Muslims fled Burma and many refugees inundated neighbouring Bangladesh including 200,000 in 1978 as a result of the
King Dragon operation in Arakan.
In 1988, unrest over economic mismanagement and political oppression by the government led to widespread pro-democracy demonstrations throughout the country known as the
8888 Uprising. Security forces killed thousands of demonstrators, and General
Saw Maung staged a coup d'état and formed the
State Law and Order Restoration Council (SLORC). In 1989, SLORC declared
martial law after widespread protests. The military government finalized plans for People's Assembly elections on 31 May 1989. SLORC changed the country's official English name from the "Socialist Republic of the Union of Burma" to the "Union of Myanmar" in 1989.
In May 1990, the government held free elections for the first time in almost 30 years. The
National League for Democracy (NLD), the party of
Aung San Suu Kyi,
won 392 out of a total 489 seats, but the election results were annulled by SLORC, which refused to step down. Led by
Than Shwe since 1992, the military regime has made cease-fire agreements with most ethnic guerrilla groups. In 1992, SLORC unveiled plans to create a
new constitution through the National Convention, which began 9 January 1993. In 1997, the State Law and Order Restoration Council was renamed the
State Peace and Development Council (SPDC).
On 23 June 1997, Burma was admitted into the
Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). The National Convention continues to convene and adjourn. Many major political parties, particularly the NLD, have been absent or excluded, and little progress has been made. On 27 March 2006, the military junta, which had moved the national capital from
Yangon to a site near
Pyinmana in November 2005, officially named the new capital
Naypyidaw, meaning "city of the kings".
The
CIA World Factbook, however, still considers the capital to be Rangoon.
In November 2006, the
International Labour Organization (ILO) announced it will be seeking – at the
International Court of Justice – "to prosecute members of the ruling Myanmar junta for crimes against humanity" over the continuous
forced labour of its citizens by the military. According to the ILO, an estimated 800,000 people are subject to forced labour in Myanmar.
The
2007 Burmese anti-government protests were a series of anti-government protests that started in Burma on 15 August 2007. The immediate cause of the protests was mainly the unannounced decision of the ruling
junta, the State Peace and Development Council, to remove
fuel subsidies which caused the price of
diesel and
petrol to suddenly rise as much as 100%, and the price of
compressed natural gas for buses to increase fivefold in less than a week.
[.] The protest demonstrations were at first dealt with quickly and harshly by the junta, with dozens of protesters arrested and detained. Starting 18 September, the protests were led by thousands of
Buddhist monks, and those protests were allowed to proceed until a renewed government crackdown on 26 September.
[.] During the crack-down, there were rumors of disagreement within the Burmese military, but none were confirmed. Some news reports referred to the protests as the Saffron Revolution.
right|250px|thumb|Protesters in [[Yangon with a banner that reads
non-violence: national movement in
Burmese, in the background is
Shwedagon Pagoda]]
During the 2007 anti-government protests a significant role was played by Mrs.
Aung San Suu Kyi, the leader of the opposition to the Burmese military government. Mrs. Aung San Suu Kyi had been under strict house arrest since 1989. In September 2007, hundreds of monks paid respects to her at the gate of her home, which was the first time in four years that people were able to see her in public. She was then given a second public appearance on 29 September, when she was allowed to leave house arrest briefly and meet with a UN envoy trying to persuade the junta to ease its crackdown against a pro-democracy uprising, to which the Myanmar government reluctantly agreed.
On 7 February 2008, SPDC announced that a referendum for the Constitution would be held, and Elections by 2010. The
Burmese constitutional referendum, 2008 was held on 10 May and promised a "discipline-flourishing democracy" for the country in the future.
World governments remain divided on how to deal with the military junta. Calls for further sanctions by Canada, United Kingdom, United States, and France are opposed by neighboring countries; in particular, China has stated its belief that "sanctions or pressure will not help to solve the issue". There is some disagreement over whether sanctions are the most effective approach to dealing with the junta, such as from a Cato Institute study and from prominent Burmese such as
Thant Myint-U (a former senior UN official and Cambridge historian), who have opined that sanctions may have caused more harm than good to the Burmese people.
In 1950, the
Karen became the largest of 20 minority groups participating in an insurgency against the government of Burma. The conflict continues as of 2009. In 2004, the BBC, citing
aid agencies, estimates that up to 200,000 Karen have been driven from their homes during decades of war, with 120,000 more refugees from Burma, mostly Karen, living in
refugee camps on the Thai side of the border. Many accuse the military government of Burma of
ethnic cleansing. As a result of the
ongoing war in minority group areas, more than two million people have fled Burma to
Thailand.
On 3 May 2008,
Cyclone Nargis devastated the country when winds of up to 215 km/h (135 mph) touched land in the densely-populated, rice-farming delta of the
Irrawaddy Division. It was the worst
natural disaster in Burmese history. Reports estimated that more than 200,000 people were dead or missing, and damage totaled to 10 billion dollars (
USD). The
World Food Programme reported, "Some villages have been almost totally eradicated and vast rice-growing areas are wiped out." The
United Nations projects that as many as 1 million were left homeless; and the
World Health Organization "has received reports of malaria outbreaks in the worst-affected area."
[.] Yet in the critical days following this disaster, Burma's isolationist regime hindered recovery efforts by delaying the entry of
United Nations planes delivering medicine, food, and other supplies. The government's action was described by the United Nations as "unprecedented."
On 4 May 2009, an American,
John Yettaw, allegedly swam across the lake uninvited to the house of Aung San Suu Kyi and remained there for two nights, resulting in the arrest of Yettaw and Suu Kyi, who are currently being held in Insein prison near Yangon. As a result, Suu Kyi is being charged with violating the terms of her house arrest, and faces a sentence of up to five years. Suu Kyi's current house arrest was due to end on 27 May 2009. On 11 August 2009, Suu Kyi was sentenced to an additional 18 months of house arrest following conviction on charges of violating the terms of her previous incarceration. British Prime Minister Gordon Brown stated, "This is a purely political sentence designed to prevent her from taking part in the regime’s planned elections next year."
In early August 2009, a conflict known as the
Kokang incident broke out in
Shan State in northern Burma. For several weeks, junta troops fought against ethnic minorities including the
Han Chinese,
Va, and
Kachin.
On from August 8–12, the first days of the conflict, as many as 10,000 Burmese civilians fled to
Yunnan province in neighboring
China.
List of historical capitals
thumb|right|300px|BaganGovernment and politics
Burma is governed by a military junta with the current head of state being Senior General Than Shwe, who holds the posts of "Chairman of the State Peace and Development Council" and "Commander in Chief of the Defense Services" as well as the Minister of Defence. General Khin Nyunt was prime minister until 19 October 2004, when he was replaced by General Soe Win, after the purge of Military Intelligence sections within the Myanmar armed forces. The current Prime Minister is General Thein Sein, who took over upon the death of General Soe Win on October 2, 2007. The majority of ministry and cabinet posts are held by military officers, with the exceptions being the Ministry of Health, the Ministry of Education, the Ministry of Labour, and the Ministry of National Planning and Economic Development, posts which are held by civilians.
Elected delegates in the 1990 People's Assembly election formed the National Coalition Government of the Union of Burma (NCGUB), a government-in-exile since December 1990, with the mission of restoring democracy. Dr. Sein Win, a first cousin of Aung San Suu Kyi, has held the position of prime minister of the NCGUB since its inception. The NCGUB has been outlawed by the military government.
Major political parties in the country are the National League for Democracy and the Shan Nationalities League for Democracy, although their activities are heavily regulated and suppressed by the military government. Many other parties, often representing ethnic minorities, exist. The military government allows little room for political organizations and has outlawed many political parties and underground student organizations. The military supported the National Unity Party in the 1990 elections and, more recently, an organization named the Union Solidarity and Development Association.
thumb|right|200px|Government propaganda poster states: "Tatmadaw and the people, cooperate and crush all those harming the union."
In 1988, the army violently repressed protests against economic mismanagement and political oppression. On 8 August 1988, the military opened fire on demonstrators in what is known as 8888 Uprising and imposed martial law. However, the 1988 protests paved way for the 1990 People's Assembly elections. The election results were subsequently annulled by Senior General Saw Maung's government. The National League for Democracy, led by Aung San Suu Kyi, won over 60% of the vote and over 80% of parliamentary seats in the 1990 election, the first held in 30 years. The military-backed National Unity Party won less than 2% of the seats. Aung San Suu Kyi has earned international recognition as an activist for the return of democratic rule, winning the Nobel Peace Prize in 1991. The ruling regime has repeatedly placed her under house arrest. Despite a direct appeal by former UN Secretary General Kofi Annan to Senior General Than Shwe and pressure by the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), the military junta extended Aung San Suu Kyi's house arrest another year on 27 May 2006 under the 1975 State Protection Act, which grants the government the right to detain any persons on the grounds of protecting peace and stability in the country. The junta faces increasing pressure from the United States and the United Kingdom. Burma's situation was referred to the UN Security Council for the first time in December 2005 for an informal consultation. In September 2006, ten of the United Nations Security Council's 15 members voted to place Myanmar on the council's formal agenda. On Independence Day, 4 January 2007, the government released 40 political prisoners, under a general amnesty, in which 2,831 prisoners were released.
ASEAN has also stated its frustration with the Union of Myanmar's government. It has formed the ASEAN Inter-Parliamentary Myanmar Caucus to address the lack of democratisation in the country. Dramatic change in the country's political situation remains unlikely, due to support from major regional powers such as India, Russia, and, in particular, China.
In the annual ASEAN Summit in January 2007, held in Cebu, Philippines, member countries failed to find common ground on the issue of Burma's lack of political reform. During the summit, ASEAN foreign ministers asked Burma to make greater progress on its roadmap toward democracy and national reconciliation.
Burma's army-drafted constitution was overwhelmingly approved (by 92.4% of the 22 million voters with alleged voter turnout of 99%) on May 10 in the first phase of a two-stage referendum amid Cyclone Nargis. It was the first national vote since the 1990 election. Multi-party elections in 2010 would end 5 decades of military rule, as the new charter gives the military an automatic 25% of seats in parliament. NLD spokesman Nyan Win, inter alia, criticized the referendum: "This referendum was full of cheating and fraud across the country; In some villages, authorities and polling station officials ticked the ballots themselves and did not let the voters do anything." The constitution would bar Aung San Suu Kyi, from public office. 5 million citizens will vote May 24 in Yangon and the Irrawaddy delta, worst hit by Cyclone Nargis.
Burma has a high level of corruption, and ranks 178th out of 180 countries worldwide in the Corruption Perceptions Index.Issues
Human rights in Burma are a long-standing concern for the international community and human rights organizations. There is general consensus that the military regime in Burma is one of the world's most repressive and abusive regimes.
Several human rights organizations, including Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International, and the American Association for the Advancement of Science have reported on human rights abuses by the military government. They have claimed that there is no independent judiciary in Burma. The military government restricts Internet access through software-based censorship that limits the material citizens can access on-line. Forced labour, human trafficking, and child labour are common. The military is also notorious for rampant use of sexual violence as an instrument of control, including systematic rapes and taking of sex slaves as porters for the military. A strong women's pro-democracy movement has formed in exile, largely along the Thai border and in Chiang Mai. There is a growing international movement to defend women's human rights issues.
The Freedom in the World 2004 report by Freedom House notes that "The junta rules by decree, controls the judiciary, suppresses all basic rights, and commits human rights abuses with impunity. Military officers hold all cabinet positions, and active or retired officers hold all top posts in all ministries. Official corruption is reportedly rampant both at the higher and local levels."
Brad Adams, director of Human Rights Watch's Asia division, in a 2004 address described the human rights situation in the country as appalling: "Burma is the textbook example of a police state. Government informants and spies are omnipresent. Average Burmese people are afraid to speak to foreigners except in most superficial of manners for fear of being hauled in later for questioning or worse. There is no freedom of speech, assembly or association."
Evidence has been gathered suggesting that the Burmese regime has marked certain ethnic minorities such as the Karen for extermination or 'Burmisation'. This, however, has received little attention from the international community since it has been more subtle and indirect than the mass killings in places like Rwanda.
In April 2007, the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) identified financial and other restrictions that the military government places on international humanitarian assistance. The GAO report, entitled "Assistance Programs Constrained in Burma", outlined the specific efforts of the government to hinder the humanitarian work of international organizations, including restrictions on the free movement of international staff within the country. The report notes that the regime has tightened its control over assistance work since former Prime Minister Khin Nyunt was purged in October 2004. The military junta passed guidelines in February 2006, which formalized these restrictive policies. According to the report, the guidelines require that programs run by humanitarian groups "enhance and safeguard the national interest" and that international organizations coordinate with state agents and select their Burmese staff from government-prepared lists of individuals. United Nations officials have declared these restrictions unacceptable.
Burma's government spends the least percentage of its GDP on health care of any country in the world, and international donor organizations give less to Burma, per capita, than any other country except India. According to the report named "Preventable Fate", published by Doctors without Borders, 25,000 Burmese AIDS patients died in 2007, deaths that could largely have been prevented by Anti Retroviral Therapy drugs and proper treatment. Divisions and states
thumb|220px|The 14 states and divisions of Burma.
The country is divided into seven states (pyine) and seven divisions (yin). Divisions () are predominantly Bamar. States (60px), in essence, are divisions which are home to particular ethnic minorities. The administrative divisions are further subdivided into districts, which are further subdivided into townships, wards, and villages.
Below are the number of districts, townships, cities/towns, wards, village Groups and villages in each divisions and states of Burma as of December 31, 2001:Foreign relations and military
The country's foreign relations, particularly with Western nations, have been strained. The United States has placed a ban on new investments by U.S. firms, an import ban, and an arms embargo on the Union of Myanmar, as well as frozen military assets in the United States because of the military regime's ongoing human rights abuses, the ongoing detention of Nobel Peace Prize recipient Aung San Suu Kyi, and refusal to honor the election results of the 1990 People's Assembly election. Similarly, the European Union has placed sanctions on Burma, including an arms embargo, cessation of trade preferences, and suspension of all aid with the exception of humanitarian aid.
Despite Western isolation, Asian corporations have generally remained willing to continue investing in the country and to initiate new investments, particularly in natural resource extraction. The country has close relations with neighboring India and China with several Indian and Chinese companies operating in the country. There remains active debate as to the extent to which the American-led sanctions have had adverse effects on the civilian population or on the military rulers. Burma has also received extensive military aid from India and China in the past. According to some estimates, Burma has received more than US$200 million in military aid from India. Under India's Look East policy, fields of cooperation between India and Burma include remote sensing, oil and gas exploration, information technology, hydro power and construction of ports and buildings. In 2008, India suspended military aid to Burma over the issue of human rights abuses by the ruling junta, although it has preserved extensive commercial ties which provide the regime with much needed revenue.
The country's armed forces are known as the Tatmadaw, which numbers 488,000. The Tatmadaw comprises the Army, the Navy, and the Air Force. The country ranked twelfth in the world for its number of active troops in service.
The country is building a research nuclear reactor near May Myo (Pyin Oo Lwin) with help from Russia. It is one of the signatories of the nuclear non-proliferation pact since 1992 and a member of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) since 1957. The military junta had informed the IAEA in September 2000 of its intention to construct the reactor. The research reactor outbuilding frame was built by ELE steel industries limited of Yangon and water from Anisakhan/BE water fall will be used for the reactor cavity cooling system.
ASEAN will not defend the country in any international forum following the military regime's refusal to restore democracy. In April 2007, the Malaysian Foreign Ministry parliamentary secretary Ahmad Shabery Cheek said Malaysia and other ASEAN members had decided not to defend Burma if the country's issue was raised for discussion at any international conference. "Now Myanmar has to defend itself if it is bombarded in any international forum," he said when winding up a debate at committee stage for the Foreign Ministry. He was replying to queries from opposition leader Lim Kit Siang on the next course of action to be taken by Malaysia and ASEAN with the military junta. Lim had said Malaysia must play a proactive role in pursuing regional initiatives to bring about a change in Burma and support efforts to bring the situation in Burma to the UN Security Council's attention. In November 2008, Burma's political situation with neighboring Bangladesh became tense as they began searching for natural gas in a disputed block of the Bay of Bengal.
Until 2005, the United Nations General Assembly annually adopted a detailed resolution about the situation in Burma by consensus.
The country is a corner of the Golden Triangle of opium production. In 1996 the United States Embassy in Rangoon released a "Country Commercial Guide", which states "Exports of opiates alone appear to be worth about as much as all legal exports." It goes on to say that investments in infrastructure and hotels are coming from major opiate-growing and opiate-exporting organizations and from those with close ties to these organizations. Economy
thumb|200px|The Sakura Tower in Yangon is virtually vacant due to a lack of major foreign investment.
The country is one of the poorest nations in southeastern Asia, suffering from decades of stagnation, mismanagement and isolation. Burma's GDP grows at an average rate of 2.9% annually – the lowest rate of economic growth in the Greater Mekong Subregion.
Under British administration, Burma was the wealthiest country in Southeast Asia. It had been the world's largest exporter of rice. During British administration, Burma supplied oil through the Burmah Oil Company. Burma also had a wealth of natural and labor resources. It produced 75% of the world's teak and had a highly literate population.
After a parliamentary government was formed in 1948, Prime Minister U Nu disastrously attempted to make Burma a welfare state and adopted central planning. Rice exports fell by two thirds and mineral exports by over 96%. Plans were partly financed by printing money, which led to inflation. The 1962 coup d'état was followed by an economic scheme called the Burmese Way to Socialism, a plan to nationalize all industries, with the exception of agriculture. The catastrophic program turned Burma into one of the world's most impoverished countries.
After 1988, the regime retreated from totalitarian socialism. It permitted modest expansion of the private sector, allowed some foreign investment, and received needed foreign exchange. The economy is still rated as the least free in Asia (tied with North Korea).
The national currency is Kyat. Burma has a dual exchange rate system similar to Cuba. The market rate was around two hundred times below the government-set rate in 2006.
In recent years, both China and India have attempted to strengthen ties with the government for economic benefit. Many nations, including the United States and Canada, and the European Union, have imposed investment and trade sanctions on Burma. The United States has banned all imports from Burma.
thumb|left|220px|People in [[Amarapura, Mandalay Division]]
The major agricultural product is rice which covers about 60% of the country's total cultivated land area. Rice accounts for 97% of total food grain production by weight. Through collaboration with the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI), 52 modern rice varieties were released in the country between 1966 and 1997, helping increase national rice production to 14 million tons in 1987 and to 19 million tons in 1996. By 1988, modern varieties were planted on half of the country's ricelands, including 98 percent of the irrigated areas.
The lack of an educated workforce skilled in modern technology contributes to the growing problems of the economy.
Today, the country lacks adequate infrastructure. Goods travel primarily across the Thai border, where most illegal drugs are exported and along the Ayeyarwady River. Railroads are old and rudimentary, with few repairs since their construction in the late nineteenth century.
The Union of Myanmar's rulers depend on sales of precious stones such as sapphires, pearls and jade to fund their regime. Rubies are the biggest earner; 90% of the world's rubies come from the country, whose red stones are prized for their purity and hue. Thailand buys the majority of the country's gems. Burma's "Valley of Rubies", the mountainous Mogok area, 200 km (125 miles) north of Mandalay, is noted for its rare pigeon's blood rubies and blue sapphires. Many U.S. and European jewelry companies, including Bulgari, Tiffany, and Cartier, refuse to import these stones based on reports of deplorable working conditions in the mines. Human Rights Watch has encouraged a complete ban on the purchase of Burmese gems based on these reports and because nearly all profits go to the ruling junta, as the majority of mining activity in the country is government-run.
Since 1992, the government has encouraged tourism in the country. However, fewer than 750,000 tourists enter the country annually. Aung San Suu Kyi has requested that international tourists not visit Burma. The junta's forced labour programmes were focused around tourist destinations which have been heavily criticised for their human rights records. Burma’s Minister of Hotels and Tourism Maj-Gen Saw Lwin has stated that the government receives a significant percentage of the income of private sector tourism services. Much of the country is completely off-limits to tourists, and the military very tightly controls interactions between foreigners and the people of Burma. They are not to discuss politics with foreigners, under penalty of imprisonment, and in 2001, the Myanmar Tourism Promotion Board issued an order for local officials to protect tourists and limit "unnecessary contact" between foreigners and ordinary Burmese people.
The M9 gas field in Burma is expected to go online in 2012.
Burma is traditionally a leader in ruby mining but it has been hurt by trade embargoes. It is also taking steps to become a leader the growing of tangerines. Units of Measure
Burma is one of three countries that still predominately uses a non-metric system of measure. Aside from a few imperial units, the common units of measure are unique to Burma, see Burmese units of measurement for more information. Demographics
thumb|220px|left|A block of flats in downtown Yangon, facing Bogyoke Market. Much of Yangon's urban population resides in densely populated flats.
Burma has a population of about 56 million. Current population figures are rough estimates because the last partial census, conducted by the Ministry of Home and Religious Affairs under the control of the military junta, was taken in 1983. No trustworthy nationwide census has been taken in Burma since 1931. There are over 600,000 registered migrant workers from Burma in Thailand, and millions more work illegally. Burmese migrant workers account for 80% of Thailand's migrant workers. Burma has a population density of , one of the lowest in Southeast Asia. Refugee camps exist along Indian, Bangladeshi and Thai borders while several thousand are in Malaysia. Conservative estimates state that there are over 295,800 refugees from Burma, with the majority being Rohingya, Kayin, and Karenni.
thumb|200px|A girl from the [[Kayan (Burma)|Padaung minority, one of the many ethnic groups that make up Burma's population.]]
Burma is home to four major linguistic families: Sino-Tibetan, Kradai, Austro-Asiatic, and Indo-European. Sino-Tibetan languages are most widely spoken. They include Burmese, Karen, Kachin, Chin, and Chinese. The primary Kradai language is Shan. Mon, Palaung, and Wa are the major Austroasiatic languages spoken in Burma. The two major Indo-European languages are Pali, the liturgical language of Theravada Buddhism, and English.
According to the UNESCO Institute of Statistics, Burma's official literacy rate as of 2000 was 89.9%. Historically, Burma has had high literacy rates. To qualify for least developed country status by the UN in order to receive debt relief, Burma lowered its official literacy rate from 78.6% to 18.7% in 1987.
Burma is ethnically diverse. The government recognizes 135 distinct ethnic groups. While it is extremely difficult to verify this statement, there are at least 108 different ethnolinguistic groups in Burma, consisting mainly of distinct Tibeto-Burman peoples, but with sizable populations of Daic, Hmong-Mien, and Austroasiatic (Mon-Khmer) peoples.
89% of the country's population are Buddhist, according to a report on abc World News Tonight in May 2008. Culture
thumb|200px|An ear-piercing ceremony at the Mahamuni Pagoda in Mandalay is one of the many coming-of-age ceremonies in Burmese culture.
A diverse range of indigenous cultures exist in Burma, the majority culture is primarily Buddhist and Bamar. Bamar culture has been influenced by the cultures of neighbouring countries. This is manifested in its language, cuisine, music, dance and theatre. The arts, particularly literature, have historically been influenced by the local form of Theravada Buddhism. Considered the national epic of Burma, the Yama Zatdaw, an adaptation of Ramayana, has been influenced greatly by Thai, Mon, and Indian versions of the play. Buddhism is practiced along with nat worship which involves elaborate rituals to propitiate one from a pantheon of 37 nats.
thumb|left|200px|Mohinga, rice noodles in fish soup, is widely considered to be Burma's national dish.
In a traditional village, the monastery is the centre of cultural life. Monks are venerated and supported by the lay people. A novitiation ceremony called shinbyu is the most important coming of age events for a boy when he enters the monastery for a short period of time.
British colonial rule also introduced Western elements of culture to Burma. Burma's educational system is modelled after that of the United Kingdom. Colonial architectural influences are most evident in major cities such as Yangon. Many ethnic minorities, particularly the Karen in the southeast, and the Kachin and Chin (people) who populate the north and northeast, practice Christianity. According to CIA World Factbook, the Burman population is 68%, and the Ethnic groups comprise of 32%. However, the exiled leaders and organizations claims that Ethnic population is 40% which is implicitly contrasted with CIA report (official U.S report).
thumb|right|200px|Members of the [[Sangha|Buddhist monkhood are venerated throughout Burma, which is one of the most predominantly Theravada Buddhist countries in the world.]] Language
Burmese, the mother tongue of the Bamar and official language of Burma, is related to Tibetan and to the Chinese languages.Religion
Many religions are practiced in Burma. Religious edifices and orders have been in existence for many years. Festivals can be held on a grand scale. The Christian and Muslim populations do, however, face religious persecution and it is hard, if not impossible, for non-Buddhists to join the army or get government jobs, the main route to success in the country. Such persecution and targeting of civilians is particularly notable in Eastern Burma, where over 3000 villages have been destroyed in the past ten years.
89% of the population embraces Buddhism (mostly Theravada). Other religions are practiced largely without obstruction, with the notable exception of some ethnic minorities such as the Muslim Rohingya people, who have continued to have their citizenship status denied and therefore do not have access to education, and Christians in Chin State. Four percent of the population practices Christianity; 4 percent, Islam; 1 percent, traditional animistic beliefs; and 2 percent follow other religions, including Mahayana Buddhism, Hinduism, Chinese religions and the Bahá'í religion. However, according to a U.S. State Department’s 2006 international religious freedom report, official statistics underestimate the non-Buddhist population which could be as high as 30%. Muslim leaders estimated that approximately 20 percent of the population was Muslim. A tiny Jewish community in Rangoon had a synagogue but no resident rabbi to conduct services.Education
thumb|right|260px|Yangon University of Medicine 1
The educational system of Burma is operated by the government Ministry of Education. Universities and professional institutes from upper Burma and lower Burma are run by two separate entities, the Department of Higher Education of Upper Burma and the Department of Higher Education of Lower Burma. Headquarters are based in Yangon and Mandalay respectively. The education system is based on the United Kingdom's system, due to nearly a century of British and Christian presences in Burma. Nearly all schools are government-operated, but there has been a recent increase in privately funded English language schools. Schooling is compulsory until the end of elementary school, probably about 9 years old, while the compulsory schooling age is 15 or 16 at international level.
There are 101 universities, 12 institutes, 9 degree colleges and 24 colleges in Burma, a total of 146 higher education institutions.
There are 10 Technical Training Schools, 23 nursing training schools, 1 sport academy and 20 midwifery schools.
There are 2047 Basic Education High Schools, 2605 Basic Education Middle Schools, 29944 Basic Education Primary Schools and 5952 Post Primary Schools. 1692 multimedia classrooms exist within this system.
There are two international schools which are acknowledged by WASC and College Board – Yangon International School (YIS) and Yangon International Educare Center (YIEC) in Yangon.Media
Due to Burma's political climate, there are not many media companies in relation to the country's population, although a certain number exists. Some are privately owned, but all programming must meet with the approval of the censorship board.See also
