Myanmar

Myanmar (Burma) Annexed by Britain in the three Burmese wars of 1824–6, 1851–2, and 1885, Burma became a colony in 1886 as part of British India. Colonial hostility to the dominant role of Buddhism in society triggered the formation of nationalist opposition, beginning with the Young Men's Buddhist Association in 1906, followed by the General Council of Burmese Associations in 1920. This was complemented by student opposition, which began to form soon after the creation of the University of Rangoon (1920), culminating in the student strikes of 1920, 1936, and 1938. The growing nationalist movement was provided with an official platform in 1937, when the Government of Burma Act (1935) came into force and made Burma a separate colony which was governed by a bicameral legislature. Resistance continued and, following the 1938 oil workers' strike, led to the formation of the Communist Party of Burma (CPB, 1939). Meanwhile, most of the nationalist movement was led by the People's Revolutionary Party (PRP). In 1942 it cooperated with the Japanese, who duly invaded the country. The disparate nationalist forces led by the PRP and the CPB became soon disenchanted with Japanese rule, and formed the Anti-Fascist People's Freedom League (AFPFL) in 1944. Under its leader, General Aung San, it orchestrated an anti-Japanese uprising which greatly facilitated the return of British troops. Under Aung San's able leadership, independence was soon negotiated, and came into effect as the Union of Burma on 4 January 1948, with Nu Thakien U as Prime Minister.  

Burma's parliamentary system proved very fragile, as the government was challenged by CPB rebels, as well as by guerrilla movements from various ethnic minorities. Nu Thakien U resigned in 1958 after a split within the AFPFL, asking the army commander, Ne Win, to take over the government. Nu Thakien U won the ensuing 1960 elections, but was deposed in 1962 by a military coup led by Ne Win. Ne Win set up a revolutionary council, and proclaimed a Burmese Way to Socialism. As businesses were nationalized and agricultural prices fixed, he effectively expropriated the successful Chinese and Indian merchant classes, thus depriving the country of its main entrepreneurial drive. The country was isolated from any contact with the outside world, with the exception of China. The subsequent decline in foreign trade led to a crucial lack of hard currency, and this meant that by the 1980s over half of its meagre export revenues were needed to service its foreign debt. The military regime was formally ended with the proclamation of the Socialist Republic of the Union of Burma in 1974, though Ne Win continued his despotic rule with the help of the Burma Socialist Party, which retained its monopoly on power. As the economy deteriorated, the military was forced to resort to increasing violence to maintain its power. The brutality of the regime led to the creation of around one million refugees, of which around 200,000 were crowded together in camps in neighbouring Thailand and India. Ne Win resigned in 1988.

The consequent pro-democracy protests were gathering momentum so quickly that a coup of 18 September 1988 restored military rule through the State Law and Order Restoration Council (SLORC). In a conciliatory gesture towards the non-Burmese ethnic groups, the government changed the country's name from Burma to Myanmar in 1989. While suppressing political opposition on the one hand (e.g. through the imprisonment of its leaders, including Aung San Suu Kyi), on the other hand the regime did allow multi-party elections in 1990. Despite its subjection to government harassment, Aung San Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy (NLD) won, gaining 392 of the 485 seats, with the military's own National Unity Party gaining but ten seats in the National Assembly. Thereafter, the military government of Than Shwe (from 1992) tried to defuse some of the popular resistance against the government, for instance by agreeing to ceasefires with a number of guerrilla groups. Aung San Suu Kyi was released from house arrest in 1995, though it was imposed again in 2000. In 2001 the government cautiously relaxed its repressive regime, lifting Aung San Suu Kyi's house arrest once again in 2002.

Burma Campaigns