Myanmar

Politics

Myanmar has been under military rule since 1962. The current head of state is General Than Shwe 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 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 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.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 2002.2

Related Topics:
Military rule - 1962 - Head of state - General Than Shwe - Prime minister - Khin Nyunt - 19 October - 2004 - Lt.-Gen. Soe Win - Cabinet - Total - Unocal - 1

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The regime is accused of having a poor human rights record, and 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.

Related Topics:
Human rights - The human rights situation in the country - Judiciary

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In 1988, protests against economic mismanagement and political opression 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 here). 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 most recently placed under house arrest on May 31, 2003, following an attack on her convoy in northern Myanmar. She remains under house arrest.

Related Topics:
1988 - August 8 - Aung San Suu Kyi - Nobel Peace Prize - 1991 - House arrest - National League for Democracy

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