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.