The Union of Myanmar, also known as Burma, is a country in Southeast Asia. The country has been ruled by a military government since a coup in 1988. The country is a developing nation. It has a population of approximately forty-two million (July 2003 est.).

Pyidaungzu Myanma Naingngandaw

(In Detail) (Full size)
National motto: none
Official language	Burmese
Capital	Yang�n (FKA Rangoon)
Capital's coordinates	16� 46' N, 96� 10' E
Largest City	Yangon
Chairman, State Peace and Development Council	Sr. Gen. Than Shwe
Prime Minister	Soe Win
Area  - Total  - % water	Ranked 39th 678,500 km² 3.06%
Population  - Total (2003)  - Density	Ranked 27th 42,510,537 62/km²
GDP (PPP)  - Total (Year)  - GDP/head	Ranked 60th 74.53 billion $ 1800 $
Currency	Kyat
Time zone	UTC +6:30 (DST, no)
Independence  - Declared  - Recognised	From the UK (Year) January 4, 1948
National anthem	Gba Majay Bma (We Shall Love Burma)
Internet TLD	.mm (formerly .bu)
Calling Code	95

Contents

1 Name 2 History 3 Politics 4 Administrative divisions 5 Geography 6 Economy 7 Demographics 8 Culture 9 Miscellaneous topics 10 Footnotes 11 See also 12 External links

Name

On becoming independent in 1948 the country became known as the "Union of Burma" but in 1989 the ruling military government renamed the state to the "Union of Myanmar". This change of name has been rejected by opponents of the current government, both within and outside of the country, who argue that the government did not have authority to institute it. The title of the Union of Myanmar is recognized by the United Nations, but rejected by some national governments, including the United States, the United Kingdom and Canada. Myanmar is a derivative of the Burmese short-form name Myanma Naingngandaw.

History

Main article: History of Myanmar

Previously an independent kingdom, in 1886 Burma was annexed by the British Empire to the colony of India. The Japanese Empire invaded and occupied the country during World War II but it was returned to British control.

In 1948 the nation became sovereign, as the Union of Burma, with U Nu as the first Prime Minister. Democratic rule ended in 1962 with a military coup led by General Ne Win. Ne Win ruled for nearly 26 years, bringing in harsh reforms. In 1990 free elections were held, but were voided by the military, which refused to step down.

Politics

Main article: Politics of Myanmar

Myanmar has been under military rule since 1988. The current head of state is General Than Shwe who holds the title of "Chairman of the State Peace and Development Council." His appointed prime minister was Khin Nyunt until 19 October 2004, when he was replaced by Lt.-Gen. Soe Win. Almost all cabinet offices are held by military officers. US sanctions against the military government have been largely ineffective, due to loopholes in the sanctions and the willingness of mainly Asian business to continue investing in Myanmar and to initiate new investments, particularly in natural resource extraction. For example, the French petroleum company Total is able to buy Myanmar's oil despite the country being under sanctions, although Total (formerly Total-Elf-Fina) is the subject of a lawsuit in French and Belgian courts for alleged connections to human rights abuses along the gas pipeline jointly owned by Total, the American company Unocal, and the Myanmarian military¹. The United States clothing and shoe industry could also be affected if all the sanctions loopholes were to be closed, although they were already subject to boycotts prior to US sanctions imposed in June of 2002².

The regime is accused of having a poor human rights record, and the human rights situation in the country is a subject of concern for a wide number of international organizations. There is no independent judiciary in Myanmar and political opposition to the military government is not tolerated.

Aung San Suu Kyi, whose party won 83% of parliamentary seats in a 1990 national election , but who was prevented from becoming prime minister by the military, has earned international praise as an activist for the return of democratic rule to Myanmar. She won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1991. She has been repeatedly placed under house arrest, although in recent years the regime has been willing to enter into negotiations with her and her party, the National League for Democracy. She was most recently placed under house arrest on May 31, 2003, following an attack on her convoy in northern Myanmar. She remains under house arrest. [1] (http://www.dassk.org/index.php)

Administrative divisions

Main article: Administrative divisions of Myanmar

Myanmar is divided into 7 divisions and 7 states. The divisions are Ayeyarwady, Bago, Magway, Mandalay, Sagaing, Tanintharyi and Yangon. The states are Chin State, Kachin State, Kayin State, Kayah State, Mon State, Rakhine State, and Shan State.

Geography

Main article: Geography of Myanmar

Economy

Main article: Economy of Myanmar

Demographics

Main article: Demographics of Myanmar

Culture

Many of the people, both men and women, wear longyis or a type of sarong.

See also:

• Music of Myanmar
• Literature of Myanmar

Miscellaneous topics

• Communications in Myanmar
  • Myanmar Wide Web
• Foreign relations of Myanmar
• Military of Myanmar
• Myanmar Baptist Convention
• Transportation in Myanmar

Footnotes

1. See:

• "Dilemma of dealing with Burma" (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/3761022.stm). Article retrieved from BBC.co.uk (http://www.bbc.co.uk) on 2nd November, 2004.
• "Myanmar: Promoting Human Development in a Heavily-Criticized Country" (http://www.total.com/csr2003/en/p6/p6_5.htm) from Total.com (http://www.total.com)
• "TotalFinaElf in the line of fire" (http://www.earthrights.org/news/TotalMay10.shtml) from Earthrights International (http://www.earthrights.org)

2. See:

• "How Best to Rid the World of Monsters" (http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn?pagename=article&contentId=A21505-2003Jun22) from Washingtonpost.com (http://www.washingtonpost.com)
• "Belgian group seeks Total boycott over Myanmar" (http://www.ibiblio.org/obl/reg.burma/archives/199905/msg00184.html), Reuters report reproduced on Ibilio (http://www.ibiblio.org).

See also

• CIA World Factbook. The source of much of the material in this article.
• Burma Campaign UK. A prominent organization dedicated to raising European awareness of the political situation in Myanmar and condemning companies aligned with the military government.
• Political prisoner
• Political protest
• Indian Ocean earthquake

External links

• Geopium: Geopolitics of Illicit Drugs in Asia (http://www.geopium.org)
• Burma News, Myanmar News (http://www.HavenWorks.com/world/burma). News website opposed to the military government.
• The Irrawaddy (http://www.irrawaddy.org/default.asp). A magazine covering Burma and Southeast Asia.
• FreeBurma.org (http://www.freeburma.org)
• Burma: Army of the Child God (http://www.insightnewstv.com/c59)
• "Burma scraps intelligence agency" (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/3945249.stm). Article from BBC.co.uk (http://www.bbc.co.uk)
• Canadian position on relations with Burma (http://www.infoexport.gc.ca/ie-en/DisplayDocument.jsp?did=1272)
• Unocal Settles Burma Lawsuit (http://www.rfa.org/english/news/business/2004/12/18/burma_unocal/)

Countries in Southeast Asia
Brunei | Cambodia | East Timor | Indonesia | Laos | Malaysia | Myanmar | Philippines | Singapore | Thailand | Vietnam

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