| BRIEF
HISTORY
Traditional kingships and other local governments that evolved among
Burma's peoples over many centuries were largely stripped of their
authority after Britain's 19th century conquest of Burma. Colonial
administration continued with limited local self-government until the
Union of Burma achieved independence in 1948. The new state came into
being as a parliamentary democracy and, although beset by ethnic strife
as minority peoples demanded autonomy from the Burman majority, survived
as a representative government until an army coup in 1962.
A military-dominated regime led by the Burma Socialist Programme Party (BSPP)
held power for the next 26 years. There were no free elections, and
freedom of expression and association were almost entirely denied.
Resistance to the regime occasionally flared, and student and worker
demonstrations in the 1960s and 1970s were brutally crushed. Torture,
political imprisonment, and other human rights abuses were common.
Throughout this period, costly guerrilla wars with ethnic opposition
groups along the country's frontiers continued.
Under the BSPP's isolationist "Burmese Way to Socialism," the
country's economy steadily deteriorated, and by mid-1988, rice shortages
and popular discontent reached crisis proportions. The police slaying of
a student sparked demonstrations by university students that were soon
joined by monks, civil servants, workers, and even policemen and
soldiers in cities and towns all over Burma. On the eighth of August -
"8-8-88''- hundreds of thousands of people nationwide marched to
demand the BSPP regime be replaced by an elected civilian government.
Soldiers fired on crowds of unarmed protesters, killing thousands.
On 18 September 1988, the army finally responded to calls for democracy
by announcing a coup by the State Law and Order Restoration Council (SLORC)
(renamed the State Peace and Development Council in November 1997). The
junta's next action was to open fire with machine guns on demonstrators
in Rangoon and other cities. The carnage was immense. While the exact
number will never be known, it is estimated that as many as 10,000
people were killed. Thousands more were arrested. Many were tortured.
Amnesty International reported in December 2000 that about 1,700
political prisoners still remain jailed under harsh conditions, and that
torture "has become an institution" in Burma. The SLORC
pledged that elections would be held after "peace and tranquillity"
were restored in Burma.
But the run-up to the elections inspired little confidence in the
process. Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, leader of the most popular opposition
party, the National League for Democracy (NLD), was placed under house
arrest in July 1989. Many other senior NLD officials were jailed. The
NLD had little access to media and few resources compared to the
SLORC-backed National Unity Party (NUP).
To most observers' surprise, a free vote did take place on 27 May 1990.
Of 485 parliamentary seats contested, the NLD won 392 (over 80%). Ethnic
minority parties opposed to the SLORC won 65 more seats. The army-front
NUP won only ten seats, a resounding rejection of military rule that
demonstrated not only the depth of the Burmese peoples' alienation from
the military regime, but also the failure of the generals to recognize
their own unpopularity.
The junta's response to this overwhelming defeat was simply to change
the rules. It declared the election was not for a parliament, but for
some members of a constituent assembly to consider a new constitution.
Repression intensified. Many NLD elected representatives were arrested.
Some have died in prison. Others fled into exile. An elected opposition
member of parliament, Dr. Sein Win, is Prime Minister of the
government-in-exile, the National Coalition Government of the Union of
Burma (NCGUB), which is among the many pro-democracy Burmese groups
working internationally for change in Burma. In 1999-2000, the junta
widened its campaign of intimidation against the grass roots of the NLD,
as well as its leadership. State media reported almost daily the "resignations"
of thousands of NLD members around the country. Many NLD leaders were
put under house arrest or detained.
Today, the junta rules by decree. Any return to civilian rule will
possibly be under a new constitution. The NCGUB and the Democratic
Alliance of Burma (DAB), comprised of several ethnic groups and others
who have been fighting against the military regime, have jointly
produced a draft democratic constitution. A military-controlled
"National Convention" has been charged by the junta with
promulgating a new national constitution. The draft document, which
enshrines military dominance of any future government and marginalizes
Burma's ethnic minorities, has already been rejected by the democratic
opposition. The NLD withdrew from the National Convention in November
1995, and the charter drafting process has remained stalled since. There
are indications that the military regime is laying the ground for a
return to some form of elections. One sign is the increasing prominence
of the army-backed Union Solidarity and Development Association (USDA),
a nominally non-partisan civic mass organization created by the SLORC in
1993. The USDA may be converted to a front political party for the
military if the generals finally seek to put a civilian face on their
rule.
After six years of house arrest, during which she was awarded the Nobel
Peace Prize, Daw Aung San Suu Kyi was released in July 1995. Early in
2001, she is again under de facto house arrest after repeatedly being
blocked from visiting NLD supporters outside Rangoon. She continues to
defy military intimidation and military decrees by speaking out against
the dictatorship. In late 2000, junta generals and NLD leaders began the
first substantive discussions in over a decade. While welcomed by all
sides, their progress is uncertain. Burma's struggle for democracy,
sadly, is far from over.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION:
Burma Project, Open Society Institute
400 West 59th Street, 4th floor
New York, NY 10019 USA
tel: (212) 548-0632 fax: (212) 548-4655
e-mail: burma@sorosny.org; http://www.burmaproject.org
Burma Desk, U.S. Department of State
EAP/BCLTV, Room 5210 2201 C Street, NW
Washington, DC 20520 USA
tel: (202) 647-3132 fax: (202) 647-3069
www.state.gov
National Coalition Government of the Union of Burma (NCGUB)
815 15th Street NW, Suite 910
Washington, DC 20005 USA
tel: (202) 393-7342 fax: (202) 393-7343
e-mail: ncgub@igc.apc.org www.ncgub.net
PUBLICATIONS
ALTSEAN (Burma). Ten Years On: A Parliament Denied. Bangkok:
ALTSEAN, 2000.
ALTSEAN (Burma). Report Card: Burma: Standoff!! Bangkok: ALTSEAN,
2000.
ALTSEAN (Burma). Report Card: Burma: Consequences of Violence.
Bangkok: ALTSEAN, 2001.
ALTSEAN (Burma). Report Card: Burma: Tentative Steps. Bangkok:
ALTSEAN, 2001.
Aung San Suu Kyi. Freedom from Fear and Other Writings. London:
Penguin Books, 1991.
Aung San Suu Kyi. Letters from Burma. New York: Penguin USA,
1998.
Aung San Suu Kyi and Alan Clements. The Voice of Hope. London:
Penguin Books, 1997.
Burma Debate
Burma Debate is published four times a year, providing commentary
and analysis on issues relating to Burma. To order, write to:
PO Box 19126
Washington, DC 20036 USA
tel: (202) 828-0110 fax: (202) 828-0819
e-mail: burmad@clark.net
Burma News Update
Burma News Update is a one-page news summary produced on a
fortnightly basis and sent to subscribers by e-mail or accessible on the
Burma Project website. It highlights breaking news and provides
important background information. To subscribe, contact:
Burma Project, Open Society Institute
400 West 59th Street New York, NY 10019 USA
tel: (212) 548-0632 fax: (212) 548-4655
e-mail: burma@sorosny.org www.burmaproject.org
If you would like to receive an e-mail version, please send an e-mail to
burma@sorosny.org. In the subject field, type "subscribe bnu
".
Carey, Peter. Burma: The Challenge of Change in a Divided Society.
New York: Macmillan Press, 1997.
Clements, Alan. Burma: The Next Killing Fields? Berkeley: Odonian
Press, 1991.
Fink, Christina. Living Silence: Burma under Military Rule. New
York: Zed Books, 2001.
Herbert, Patricia. Burma: World Bibliographical Series, vol. 132.
Oxford: Clio Press, 1991.
Lintner, Bertil. Outrage: Burma's Struggle for Democracy. London
& Bangkok: White Lotus Press, 1990.
Mya Than Tint. On the Road to Mandalay. Bangkok: White Orchid
Press, 1996.
New Internationalist. Burma, A Cry for Freedom. New York: New
Internationalist, 1996.
Pedersen, Morten B., Emily Rudland, R.J. May (eds.). Burma-Myanmar:
Strong Regime Weak State? London: C. Hurst & Co., Ltd., 2000.
Scott, James George. The Burman, His Life and Notions. London:
Macmillian, 1882. 2 vols; New York: W.W. Norton, 1963.
Whiting Bay, Isle of Arran: Kiscadale Publications, 1989.
Silverstein, Josef. Burma: Military Rule and the Politics of
Stagnation. Ithaca, New York: Cornell University Press, 1977.
Smith, Martin. Burma: Insurgency and the Politics of Ethnicity (revised
and updated). London: Zed Books, 1999.
Steinberg, David L. Burma: The State of Myanmar. Washington, DC:
Georgetown University Press, 2001.
Stewart, Whitney and Aung San Suu Kyi. Fearless Voice of Burma.
Minneapolis: Lerner Publications Co., 1997.
Taylor, Robert H. The State in Burma. London: C. Hurst, 1987.
Taylor, Robert H. (ed.). Burma: Political Economy under Military Rule.
London: C. Hurst & Co., Ltd., 2001.
Thant Myint-U. The Making of Modern Burma. Cambridge: Cambridge
University Press, 2001.
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Burma:
Country in Crisis was prepared by Open
Society Institute's Burma project
Content:
Republished
with permission from Open
Society Institute
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