Myanmar

Origin and history of the name

In 1989, the military junta Geographical renaming|officially changed the English language|English version of its name from Burma to Myanmar (along with Geographical renaming|changes in the English versions of many place names in the country, such as its former capital city, from Rangoon to Yangon). The official name of the country in the Burmese language, ''Myanma'' (), did not change, however. The renaming proved to be politically controversial, seen by some as being less inclusive of minorities, and linguistics|linguistically unscholarly.

History

Previously an independent kingdom, in 1824–1826, 1851–1852 and 1885–1886 Burma was invaded by the British Empire and became a part of India. During the 1930s Burma became self administered colony independent of the Indian administration. During World War II Burma became a major front in the South-East Asian Theatre of World War II|South-East Asian Theatre. After initial successes by the Japanese in the Burma Campaign which saw them expel the British from most of Burma, the British fought back and by July 1945 had retaken the country. Burmese fought for both sides in the war. The Burma 1st Division, the Kachin Levies, the Karen Rifles and in other formations such as the OSS Detachment 101|American-Kachin Rangers fought for the Allies, and the Burmese National Army under the command of Aung San fought for the Japanese. In 1948 the nation became sovereign, as the Union of Burma, with U Nu as the first Prime Minister. Democracy|Democratic rule ended in 1962 with a military coup d'etat led by Ne Win|General Ne Win. Ne Win ruled for nearly 26 years, bringing in harsh reforms. In 1990 free elections were held for the first time in almost 30 years, but the landslide victory of the NLD, the party of Aung San Suu Kyi was voided by the military, which refused to step down. One of the top figures in Burmese history in the 20th century is Army founder and freedom figure General Aung San, a student-turned activist whose daughter is 1991 Nobel Peace Laureate and worldwide peace, freedom and democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi of the NLD, now under house arrest. The third most recognised Burmese figure in the world is U Thant, who was UN Secretary General for two terms and highly respected throughout United Nations' history. In November 2005, the military junta announced that the national capital would be moved from Yangon to Pyinmana. The map on the history page shows Burma as it was at its height before 1886. Burmese kings occasionally occupied some parts of China, India, small parts of Bangladesh, Laos and most of hearts of Thailand's ancient kingdoms at various times in history.

Politics

Myanmar has been under military rule since 1962. The current head of state is Than Shwe|General Than Shwe( Saut Paw) 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 Soe Win|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 S.A.|Total is able to buy Myanmar's oil despite the country being under sanctions, although Total (formerly TotalFinaElf) 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 Myanma military.^#Footnotes|1 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 2002.^#Footnotes|2 The regime is accused of having a poor human rights record, and Human rights in Myanmar|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. Also, Internet access is limited to non-political Burmese websites. Citizens are prohibited from creating sites that promote the reform of their government. In 1988, protests against economic mismanagement and political oppression were violently repressed; on August 8 of that year, the military opened fire on demonstrators in what has come to be known as the 8888 uprising (a partial list of victims is http://www.irrawaddy.org/res/88final1.html. Nonetheless, the 1988 protests paved way for the 1990 elections; these were however invalidated by the military. Aung San Suu Kyi, whose opposition 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 placed under house arrest on May 31, 2003, following an attack on her convoy in northern Myanmar. Her house arrest was extended for yet another year in late November of 2005. http://www.dassk.org/index.php

Administrative divisions

Myanmar is divided into seven divisions and seven states, based on the dominant ethnic groups. Divisions are primarily Burman, while states predominantly consist of other ethnic groups. #Divisions (''taing''): #

Ayeyarwady Division (formerly Irrawady Division) #

Bago Division (formerly Pegu Division) #

Magway Division #

Mandalay Division #

Sagaing Division #

Tanintharyi Division (formerly Tenasserim Division) #

Yangon Division (formerly Rangoon Division) #States (''pyi''): #

Chin State #

Kachin State #

Kayin State (formerly Karen State) #

Kayah State (formerly Karenni State) #

Mon State #

Rakhine State (formerly Arakan State) #

Shan State

Geography

Myanmar is located between Bangladesh and Thailand, with People's Republic of China|China to the north and India to the north-west, with coastline on the Bay of Bengal and Andaman Sea. The country has a total area of 678,500 km², of which almost half is forest or woodland. Topographically, along its borders with India and China and in the west, the country has mountains which surround a central lowland around the river Ayeyarwady, and which form a fertile River delta|delta where it flows into the sea. Most of the country's population lives in this central lowland.

Economy

Formerly the richest country in Southeast Asia and once believed to be fast on track to development, Myanmar is now one of the poorest countries in the world, suffering since the 1962 military takeover, which resulted in economic mismanagement and stagnation. In 1989, the government of Myanmar began decentralising economic control and has since liberalised some portions of the economy. However, the lucrative industries of gems, oil and forestry remain under the control of the military. The United Nations lists Myanmar as a LLDC (least developed country). Tourism is being encouraged by the government; however, fewer than 750,000 tourists enter the country yearly. Private enterprises are often co-owned or indirectly by the Tatmadaw. The gap between the wealthy and the poor continues to grow larger. Some nations, such as the Canada and United Kingdom have placed trade sanctions on Myanmar. Foreign investment comes primarily from PRC|China, Singapore and Thailand. Myanmar lacks adequate infrastructure, and has suffered as a result. Goods travel primarily through the Burmese-Thailand|Thai borders, from which most illegal drugs are exported, and through the Ayeyarwady River. Railroads are rudimentary, with few repairs since their construction in the 19th century. Highways are normally unpaved, except in the major cities. Energy shortages are common throughout the country. Myanmar is the second-largest producer of heroin in the world. Other industries include agricultural goods, textiles, wood products, construction materials, and metals. The lack of an educated workforce also contributes to the growing problems of the Burmese economy.

Demographics

Myanmar is ethnically diverse. The dominant ethnic group are the Bamar who speak Burmese language|Burmese. 10% of the population are Shan, who speak Shan language|Shan dialects, related to Lao language|Lao and Thai language|Thai. The Karen (Kayin) make up 7% of the population, and speak languages distantly related to Burmese. The remainder are Rakhine (Arakanese), Kachin, Chin (people)|Chin, Burmese Chinese|Chinese, Mon (ethnic group)|Mon, and Burmese Indians | Indian. Once a large and influential community, there is a small and ever dwindling Eurasian community consisting of Anglo-Burmese and Anglo-Indian|Anglo-Indians (collectively known as ''ka-bya''). Largely Christian and Westernised, the Eurasians of Burma suffered horrendously after the 1962 coup - most fled the country or Burmanised and adopted Burmese names, religion, dress and customs. Today, those remaining in the country have all but assimilated to the Bamar and Indian communities. This is a result of the xenophobic regime instituted in 1962. Burmese language | Burmese is the official language of Myanmar. Minorities often speak Burmese as a second language, while the Bamar commonly speak English language|English as a second language. Buddhism, particularly Theravada Buddhism is practised by 89% of the population, mostly among the Bamar (and Rakhine), Shan, Mon, and Chinese. Christianity practiced by 4% of the population, and is dominant among the Chin and Karen. At present, the government is attempting to wipe out all traces of Christianity by committing genocide. The tribal Christians are being slaughtered by the hundreds each day. 4% of the population practise Islam; these Muslims are divided amongst long-established persons of Indian descent, persons of mixed Indo-Burmese descent, persons of Persian, Arab and Chinese descent, as well as the native Rohingya Muslims of Arakan. The Muslim population is often persecuted, and is socially quite marginalized. Small segments of the population practise Hinduism or animism. The biggest expatriate community of Burmese is to be found in neighbouring Thailand where many Burmese refugees have fled from the military regime in Burma. There is also a large community in India, Malaysia and Singapore. Significant numbers of Burmese are also to be found in the UK, Australia, New Zealand and in Southern California, USA and in Toronto, Canada. These communities represent all ethnic groups of the country. However, in London, UK, Perth, Australia and in the Los Angeles area, USA - there are to be found large communities of people of Anglo-Burmese origins.

Culture

The culture of Myanmar is a mixture of centuries of Chinese, Indian, and Thai influences. This is reflected in its language, cuisine, and music. The arts have historically been influenced by Theravada Buddhism, as well as literature. However, in modern times, the culture of Myanmar has increasingly become westernized; this is most apparent in urban areas. Many, both women and men, wear a sarong called ''longyi''. '''See also:'''

Literature of Myanmar

Music of Myanmar

Cuisine of Myanmar

Miscellaneous topics

Communications in Myanmar

Myanmar Wide Web

Foreign relations of Myanmar

Golden Triangle

Military of Myanmar

Myanmar Baptist Convention

Transportation in Myanmar

Wa State

International rankings

http://www.odci.gov/cia/publications/factbook/rankorder/2004rank.html— 185th of 232 countries

Index of Economic Freedom — 154th of 155 countries

Reporters Without Borders Worldwide Press Freedom Index — 165th of 167 countries

http://www.transparency.org/pressreleases_archive/2004/2004.10.20.cpi.en.html— 142th of 145 countries

http://www.savethechildren.org/mothers/report_2004/images/pdf/SOWM_2004_final.pdfChildren's index: 114th of 157 countries

http://www.yale.edu/esi/ESI2005_Main_Report.pdf— 46th of 146 countries

http://www.census.gov/ipc/www/idbrank.html 26th most-populated country in the world.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_area 39th largest out of 194.

http://www.photius.com/rankings/healthranks.html 190 out of 190 countries.

http://www.aneki.com/earthquake_prone_countries.html Listed in 57 most-earthquake prone countries.

http://earthtrends.wri.org/searchable_db/index.cfm?theme=4&variable_ID=396&action=select_countries 24th largest among 148 countries.

http://www.geographyiq.com/ranking/ranking_Labor_Force_top25.htm 22nd largest in the world.

http://www.geographyiq.com/ranking/ranking_Inflation_Rate_consumer_prices_top25.htm 3rd highest in the world.

http://www.unodc.org/pdf/document_2000-12-21_1_page003.pdf 2nd largest in the world.

http://www.undp.org/hdr2003/indicator/indic_2_1_1.html 131 out of 175.

http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/rankorder/2153rank.html 0.0596%, 214th out of 217.

http://www.nationmaster.com/graph-T/agr_are_ric 7th largest in the world.

Burma and the Internet

Burma is among the very worst enemies of Internet freedom and in many ways its policies are worse than China’s. The price of computers and a home Internet connection is prohibitive so Internet cafés are the target of the military regime’s scrutiny. As in neighbouring Vietnam and China, access to opposition sites is systematically blocked, in this case with technology supplied by the US firm Fortinet.Web-based e-mail, such as Yahoo ! or Hotmail, cannot be used and all Internet café computers record every five minutes the screen being consulted, to spy on what customers are doing.

Footnotes

1. See:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/3761022.stm Article retrieved from http://www.bbc.co.ukon 2nd November, 2004.

http://www.total.com/csr2003/en/p6/p6_5.htmfrom http://www.total.com

http://www.earthrights.org/news/TotalMay10.shtmlfrom http://www.earthrights.org2. See:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn?pagename=article&contentId=A21505-2003Jun22from http://www.washingtonpost.com

http://www.ibiblio.org/obl/reg.burma/archives/199905/msg00184.html Reuters report reproduced on http://www.ibiblio.org

Special characters

External links

Government

http://www.myanmar.gov.mm/

http://www.mofa.gov.mm/

http://www.moha.gov.mm/

http://www.mcpt.gov.mm/

http://www.mora.gov.mm/

http://www.myanmar-education.edu.mm/

http://www.myanmar.com/Ministry/finance/

http://www.myanmar.com/Ministry/Transport/

http://www.myanmar.com/Ministry/health/

http://www.myanmar.com/Ministry/Hotel_Tour/

http://ncgub.net/

Other

http://www.shanland.org/

http://www.karen.org

http://www.mywebdigest.net

http://www.myanmarexpedition.com

http://www.myanmars.netMyanmar-based web guide

http://myanmartravelinformation.com

http://www.nicemyanmar.com/ Myanmar Chat, Travel, Forum.

http://www.mrtv3.net.mm/

http://www.insightnewstv.com/c59

http://www.HavenWorks.com/world/burma News website opposed to the military government.

http://www.cookbookwiki.com/Category:Burmese

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/3945249.stm Article from http://www.bbc.co.uk

http://www.infoexport.gc.ca/ie-en/DisplayDocument.jsp?did=1272

http://www.eumon.org

http://www.freeburma.org

http://www.geopium.org

http://www.irrawaddy.org/default.asp

http://www.rfa.org/english/news/business/2004/12/18/burma_unocal/

http://www.qbba.org.au

http://www.keoshi.co.uk/Gallery/