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Contents : Uniya JESUIT SOCIAL JUSTICE CENTRE VIEW ON ASIA briefing series MYANMAR/BURMA Union of Myanmar (Burma) Capital: Yangon (Rangoon) Head of state: Sen. General Than Shwe Border countries: Thailand Laos China India Bangladesh India KACHIN 1 Myanmar/Burma has had a spurt of foreign China relations controversies ever since it abruptly Bangladesh CHIN adjourned its controversial 2004 National Mandalay Convention to draft a new constitution. In SHAN August 2004 Myanmar/Burma was hit by Vietnam renewed sanctions from the US faced being RAKHINE Laos banned from the upcoming Asia-Europe Meeting Yangon KAREN (ASEM) and its officials were barred from the MON 28th Olympic Games in Athens for its lack of Thailand human rights and democracy a reminder that Cambodia Myanmar/Burma still remains one of the most difficult foreign policy challenges in Asia for the international community. Myanmar/Burma is situated east of the Andaman Sea and strategically buffers the world s two largest populations China and India. The Malaysia 1 Since 1989 the authorities have promoted the name Myanmar instead of Burma as a conventional name for their state. The name change is recognised by the UN but not the US. Australia does not seem to have an official position on the choice of terminology. Burmese expatriates including those residing in Australia continue to use the old colonial name. This paper uses both names attaching no political significance to either term. Released: September 2004 Author: Minh Nguyen PO Box 522 Kings Cross NSW 1340 Australia T e l ( 0 2 ) 9 3 5 6 3 8 8 8 Fax (02) 9356 3021 W e b w w w . u n i y a . o r g Em minh.nguyen@uniya.org VIEW ON ASIA Myanmar/Burma country is rich in resources and diverse in its ethnic demography. A former pariah state in the region and to the world the military government of Myanmar/Burma has in recent times opened up the country s economy and attempted to build friendly relations with its regional neighbours. The deepening of bilateral relations with China and the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) has been particularly significant with China now one of Myanmar/Burma s staunchest political defenders and top weapons suppliers. While Australia presently has very little economic interest in Myanmar/Burma itself its interest in promoting human rights and good regional relations should in turn engage Australia s foreign policy priorities in the country. With its eyes firmly on the Asian economies Australia also has an interest in a politically stable and confident region. As the military government of Myanmar/Burma attempts to woo its regional neighbours and prepares to take up the ASEAN chair in 2006 Australia should be keenly interested in the regime s earnestness in delivering democracy and human rights to its people conditions which are fundamental for national unity and stability and therefore the prosperity of the region as a whole. Historical overview Myanmar/Burma s diverse ethnic mix with 8 major ethnic groups and over 100 spoken dialects is a result of a long history of migration and conflict along its fluid frontiers. The Burmans are the ruling Burmese ethnic group that dominates the country s military and government. 2 Most of Myanmar/Burma s ethnic minorities inhabit areas along the country s mountainous frontiers. The largest of the minority groups are the Karen who inhabit 2 In this paper Burmese refers to the citizens and expatriates of Myanmar/Burma and to the official language of Myanmar/Burma. Burman refers to the dominant ethnic group in Myanmar/Burma. 2 the lower Myanmar/Burma region the Shan a Thai- related hill people who live s along the Thai border the Mon who are concentrated in the southern part of Myanmar/Burma the Chin who live sideby-side with the Mizoram of India and Kachin a hill tribe people along the Chinese border. Under British colonial rule (which conquered and ruled Myanmar/Burma for more than a century) the diverse ethnic minority groups were administered as separate mini-states known as Frontier Areas . British rule established a complex system of differing treatment for different ethnic groups the cons equences of which continues to resonate today. The divide and rule strategy of the British Raj entrenched ethnic nationalist sentiments which became an impediment to creating a unified sense of nationhood in Myanmar/Burma following independence in 1948. Although there were early attempts at creating a federal political framework for the newly independent Myanmar/Burma such plans eventually gave way to a unitary model. The new central government faced almost immediate armed challenges from political faction groups and ethnic minorities. The conflict with ethnic groups continued almost uninterruptedly until cease- fire processes were initiated just over a decade ago. The Karen demanding greater autonomy was one of the first minority groups to tak

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