About Burma

Burma

Burma is a southeast Asian country bordered by Bangladesh and India to the northwest, China to the northeast, Laos to the east and Thailand to the southeast. The Andaman Sea and the Bay of Bengal are to the south and southwest of the country. Burma has a population of approximately 50 million people with diverse ethnic, religious and linguistic identities.

A Brief History of Modern Burma

Burma or Myanmar?

In 1989, the then-ruling regime suddenly changed the English translations of many names of states, cities, and towns as well as that of the country itself. This was an attempt to improve their image following their violent crackdown on protestors during the 8888 Uprising. Burma became Myanmar. In the Burmese language, Burma and Myanmar are pronounced almost identically. Burma Action Ireland uses Burma or on occasion, Burma/Myanmar.

8888 uprising & 1990 elections

In 1962, the military seized control of Burma in a coup d'état and it has been under military rule since then. Economic mismanagement and isolationist policies resulted in Burma becoming one of the world's most impoverished countries. By 1988, unrest over increasing poverty and political oppression led to nationwide demonstrations, culminating in a general strike on 8th August 1988, known as the 8888 Uprising. The military retaliated with a brutal crackdown, in which thousands are believed to have been killed.


During the protests, Aung San Suu Kyi emerged as a symbol of the struggle for democracy. In the 1990 elections, her party, the National League for Democracy (NLD), won an overwhelming victory but the military refused to cede power.

2008 constitution

The military's 'Roadmap to Democracy' was designed to present a democratic, civilian front while in effect entrenching and legitimising military rule. As part of this process, the military held sham elections in 2010 and in 2011, and then brought into effect their undemocratic, military-drafted constitution.


Under the 2008 Constitution:


  • 25% of the seats in Parliament are reserved for members of the military, guaranteeing them a veto over any amendments to the Constitution.
  • The military retains control of the key ministries of defence, home affairs and border security.
  • The military has the majority voting power on the powerful National Defence and Security Council, which has the final decision on any major issue.
  • The military is exempt from any civilian oversight and could continue to commit human rights violations with impunity.
  • The Constitution gives the military sweeping powers to take direct control of government.

2015 elections

In the 2015 elections, the NLD party won an overwhelming victory. NLD leader Aung San Suu Kyi is constitutionally barred from becoming President. However, since 2016, she is the de facto head of Government through the creation of a new role as State Counsellor.

Human rights abuses

For decades, successive military rulers have committed systematic grave human rights violations against ethnic minorities, including extrajudicial executions, arbitrary detention, torture, rape and sexual violence. These atrocities are on a scale and of a nature to constitute crimes against humanity, war crimes and genocide, but the perpetrators have never been held to account. Burma's military continued to commit such abuses, including the clearance operations against the Rohingya, when sharing power with the civilian-led Government.


Under the 2008 Constitution, the Government has limited scope to prevent some of the serious human rights abuses. Nevertheless, the Government refused to cooperate with the UN Fact-Finding Mission on human rights violations, continued to deny the Rohingya their citizenship and defended the military's attacks on civilians.

2021 military coup d'état

On 1st February 2021, Burma's military leader Min Aung Hlaing launched a coup d'état, arresting democratically elected officials, declaring a state of emergency, and appointing himself as head of the State Administrative Council. The military junta declared the results of the November 2020 elections, which the NLD won by a landslide, invalid and justified the coup by alleging widespread electoral fraud, a claim rejected by independent international observers.


In the immediate aftermath of the coup, the people staunchly demonstrated their opposition to the coup with mass protests, work stoppages, boycotts of military products and a civil disobedience movement. The military junta responded with a brutal campaign of terror, which has claimed the lives of thousands of civilians including children. Tens of thousands of people have been arbitrarily detained in prisons and interrogation centres where torture is endemic.

Many people have fled the cities and towns; some have taken up arms to oppose the military junta, forming peoples' defence forces and receiving support and training from the ethnic resistance organisations (EROs). The military junta have launched ground offensives, airstrikes and indiscriminate shelling on towns and villages in rural and ethnic areas. In central Burma, security forces have burned down homes and schools, destroyed medical clinics and places of worship. The military junta have massacred civilians and burned their remains. More than 2.6 million people are internally displaced and over 18.6 million are in need of humanitarian aid.


Yet, the military junta continue to be faced with defiant and widespread resistance and they have been unable to seize control of the country. The military junta has driven the country further into an economic, humanitarian, and human rights catastrophe that is escalating all the time.

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EU & Burma

The EU has maintained an arms embargo on Burma since the 1990s. Since the attempted military coup in February 2021, the EU has introduced 8 rounds of sanctions on individuals responsible for the coup and the ongoing campaign of terror as well as on individuals and entities that are either linked to or are under the direct control of military junta and that have supported the military junta financially, through the procurement of arms, equipment, or aviation fuel or in another way.

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UN & Burma

The UN Security Council adopted Resolution 2669 on 21 December 2022 and expressed deep concern regarding the ongoing situation in Myanmar since the coup on 1 February 2021. The resolution calls for the immediate release of all political prisoners; respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms; upholding of democratic institutions; need for safe and unhindered humanitarian access; and immediate end to all forms of violence in the country. It also acknowledged the dire situation of Rohingya.

Further information

Reports

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