MYANMAR

Union of Myanmar

Pyidaungzu Myanma Naingngandaw

CAPITAL: Yangon (formerly Rangoon)

FLAG: The national flag is red with a blue canton, within which 14 white stars encircle a rice stalk and an industrial wheel.

ANTHEM: Kaba Makye (Our Free Homeland)

MONETARY UNIT: The kyat (k) is a paper currency of 100 pyas. There are coins of 1, 5, 10, 25, and 50 pyas and 1 kyat, and notes of 1, 5, 10, 25, and 100 kyats. k1 = $0.17182 (or $1 = k5.82) as of 2005.

WEIGHTS AND MEASURES: Both British and metric weights and measures are in general use, but local units also are employed.

HOLIDAYS: Independence Day, 4 January; Union Day, 12 February; Peasants' Day, 2 March; Defense Services Day, 27 March; Burmese New Year, 17 April; World Workers' Day, 1 May; Martyrs' Day, 19 July; Christmas, 25 December. Movable religious holidays include Full Moon of Tabaung, February or March; Thingyan (Water Festival), April; Full Moon of Kason, April or May; Waso (Beginning of Buddhist Lent), June or July; Thadingyut (End of Buddhist Lent), October; and Tazaungdaing, November.

TIME: 6:30 pm = noon GMT.

LOCATION, SIZE, AND EXTENT

Situated in Southeast Asia, Myanmar has an area of 678,500 sq km (261,970 sq mi), extending 1,931 km (1,200 mi) n–s and 925 km (575 mi) e–w. Comparatively, the area occupied by Myanmar is slightly smaller than the state of Texas. It is bounded on the n and e by China, on the e by Laos, on the se by Thailand, on the s by the Andaman Sea, and on the w by the Bay of Bengal, Bangladesh, and India, with a total boundary length of 7,806 km (4,850 mi), of which 1,930 km (1,197 mi) is coastline.

Myanmar's capital city, Yangon (formerly Rangoon), is located in the southern part of the country.

TOPOGRAPHY

Myanmar is divided into four topographic regions: a mountainous area in the north and west, ranging from about 1,830–6,100 m (6,000–20,000 ft) in altitude, and including the Arakan coastal strip between the Arakan Yoma mountain range and the Bay of Bengal; the Shan Highlands in the east, a deeply dissected plateau averaging 910 m (2,990 ft) in height and extending southward into the Tenasserim Yoma, a narrow strip of land that projects some 800 km (500 mi) along the Malay Peninsula, in the southeast; central Myanmar, a principal area of cultivation, bounded by the Salween River in the east and the Irrawaddy River and its tributary, the Chindwin, in the west; and the fertile delta and lower valley regions of the Irrawaddy and Sittang rivers in the south, covering an area of about 25,900 sq km (10,000 sq mi) and forming one of the world's great rice granaries. Good harbors are located along the coastline.

Myanmar is located in a seismically active region of the Eurasian tectonic plate. As such, the nation experiences frequent earth tremors and quakes. Though these are usually minor, below 5.0 magnitude on the Richter scale, a 6.6 magnitude earthquake occurred about 65 miles (110 km) south of Meiktila on 21 September 2003.

CLIMATE

Myanmar has a largely tropical climate with three seasons: the monsoon or rainy season, from May to October; the cool season, from November to February; and the hot season, generally from March to April. Rainfall during the monsoon season totals more than 500 cm (200 in) in upper Myanmar and over 250 cm (100 in) in lower Myanmar and Yangon (formerly Rangoon). Central Myanmar, called the dry zone, and Mandalay, the chief city in the area, each receive about 76 cm (30 in). The mean annual temperature is 27°c (81°f); average daily temperatures in Yangon (Rangoon) range from 18–32°c (64–90°f) in January, during the cool season, and from 24–36°c (75–97°f) in April, during the hot season. The climate in upper Myanmar, particularly at altitudes ranging from about 300–1,220 m (1,000–4,000 ft), is the most temperate throughout the year, while lower Myanmar, especially in the delta and coastal regions, is the most humid.

FLORA AND FAUNA

Myanmar has a wide variety of plant and animal life. Teak, representing about 25% of the total forested area, thrives mainly in the mountainous regions; evergreen, bamboo, and palm in the freshwater delta swamps and along the coastlands; mangrove in the salty coastal marshes; mixed temperate forests and rolling grasslands in the Shan Highlands; and scrub vegetation in the dry central area. There are about 12 species of monkeys, as well as tigers, leopards, elephants, and half-wild pariah dogs. Fish abound along the coastline, in the tidal waters of the delta, and in the rivers and streams. As of 2002, there were at least 300 species of mammals, 310 species of birds, and over 7,000 species of plants throughout the country.

ENVIRONMENT

In Myanmar the principal environmental threat comes from cyclones and flooding during the monsoon season, and regular earthquakes. Deforestation for farming or illegal economic gain is the most persistent ecological effect of human encroachment. In 1985, 405 square miles were lost through deforestation. By 1994, two-thirds of Myanmar's tropical forests had been eliminated. However, the nation still had the world's eighth-largest mangrove area, totaling approximately half a million hectares. In 2000, about 52% of the total land area was forested.

Little information is available about the long-term effects of industrialization on the natural environment, although evidence of industrial pollutants has been found in the air, water, soil, and food. Myanmar has 881 cu km of renewable water resources. About 95% of city dwellers and 74% of the rural population have access to improved water sources. Inadequate sanitation and water treatment are leading contributors to disease. Environmental concerns have been given low priority by the government.

According to a 2006 report issued by the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN), threatened species included 39 types of mammals, 41 species of birds, 20 types of reptiles, 7 species of fish, 1 type of mollusk, 1 species of other invertebrate, and 38 species of plants. Threatened species included the banteng, pink-headed duck, Asian elephants, Malayan tapirs, freshwater sawfish, the Sumatran rhinoceros, Siamese crocodiles, hawksbill turtles, gaurs, and sun bears. The Javan rhinoceros is extinct.

POPULATION

The population of Myanmar (Burma) in 2005 was estimated by the United Nations (UN) at 50,519,000, which placed it at number 24 in population among the 193 nations of the world. In 2005, approximately 5% of the population was over 65 years of age, with another 29% of the population under 15 years of age. There were 99 males for every 100 females in the country. According to the UN, the annual population rate of change for 2005–10 was expected to be 1.2%, a rate the government viewed as satisfactory. The projected population for the year 2025 was 59,002,000. The population density was 75 per sq km (193 per sq mi).

The UN estimated that 29% of the population lived in urban areas in 2005, and that urban areas were growing at an annual rate of 3.16%. The capital city, Yangon (formerly Rangoon), had a population of 3,874,000 in that year. The next largest city is Mandalay, with an estimated population of 927,000.

MIGRATION

Indians were the most significant Asian minority in Myanmar until World War II, when hundreds of thousands fled the Japanese invasion; although many returned after the war, the Indian minority never regained its prewar proportions, because after independence in 1948 the government of Myanmar instituted rigid restrictions on Indian migration. The Indian population was substantially reduced between April 1963 and June 1965, when 100,000 were repatriated as part of a program to increase the wealth and holdings of Myanmar nationals. (Indians had dominated Myanmar's commerce.) The government has sought to curtail both immigration and emigration, although as many as 500,000 persons may have left Myanmar during 1962–71. About 187,000 Muslims who fled to Bangladesh in 1978 were repatriated with the help of UN agencies by the end of 1981; they had left Myanmar because of alleged atrocities by its soldiers in Arakan State. They lost their citizenship in 1982.

About 500,000 poor urban residents were forcibly relocated to rural areas between 1989 and 1992. Rural residents are also subject to forced resettlement in connection with counterinsurgency operations.

In 1992, some 250,000 Muslim refugees from Myanmar's Northern Rakhine state began arriving in Bangladesh, claiming human rights abuses in Myanmar. As of October 1996, around 50,000 of these refugees were still living in South Bangladesh in five refugee camps. Between 1994 and 1997, some 230,000 of these refugees returned home to Northern Rakhine state. The repatriation resumed in November 1998, following meetings between the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and Myanmar authorities, but returns were limited to some 450 people due to procedural problems. UNHCR has appealed to the governments of Myanmar and Bangladesh to accelerate the repatriation process. In 2004, there were 210 returned refugees

In 2000 the total number of migrants residing in Myanmar numbered 113,000. Myanmar migrants remitted $26 billion in 2002. The net migration rate for 2005 was an estimated -1.8 per 1000 population. The government views the migration levels as satisfactory.

ETHNIC GROUPS

The Burmans, ethnically related to the Tibetans, constitute about 68% of Myanmar's total population. In remote times, the Burmans, migrants from the hills east of Tibet, descended the Irrawaddy Valley and intermarried with the previously settled Mon and Pyu peoples. Since then, however, many other migrant peoples from the northeast and northwest have settled in Myanmar: the Shans, Karens, Kachins, Kayahs, and Chins are among the more numerous. Although much ethnic fusion has taken place among these peoples and the Burmans, most of the later migrant groups remain distinct cultural entities and have sought to preserve their autonomy, sometimes by violent means. According to the latest estimates, the Shan made up about 9% of the population, the Karen 7%, Rakhine 4%, Chinese 3%, Mon 2%, Indian 2%, and other 5%.

LANGUAGES

Burmese, the official language, is spoken by at least 80% of the population. Pronunciation varies greatly from area to area. Although Burmese is monosyllabic and tonal like other Tibeto-Chinese languages, its alphabet of 10 vowels and 32 consonants is derived from the Pahlavi script of South India; loan words from other languages are common. Burmese is the language of government, but the ethnic minorities have their own languages; according to the 1974 constitution, "if necessary the language of the national race concerned may be used."

RELIGIONS

Under the government of U Nu (overthrown in 1962), Buddhism was the state religion. Since then the government has been controlled by authoritarian military regimes which have generally placed restrictions on religious freedom. The government has ruled without a constitution since 1988 and shows a strong preference for Theravada Buddhism. All religious publications and sermons are subject to approval and censorship by the government. Proselytizing is prohibited by some Christian groups in some areas. Religious activists are generally monitored by the state.

According to government statistics, Theravada Buddhism is practiced by about 90% of the population. A number of adherents combine their practice with traditional practices such as astrology, numerology, fortune-telling, and the veneration of pre-Buddhist deities called nats. The Chinese in Myanmar practice a traditional mixture of Mahayana Buddhism, Taoism, Confucianism, and ancestor worship; the Indians are Hindus; the Pakistanis are Muslims; and most of the Europeans are Christians. Although Christian missionaries had some success with peoples of the hill areas—the Karens, Kayahs, Kachins, and Chins—conversion among the Burmans and the Shans was negligible. About 4% of the population are Christian, with Baptists, Catholics, and Anglicans being the primary denominations. The government claims that about 4% of the population are Muslim, mostly Sunni. Muslim leaders, however, claim the percentage to be much higher, at about 14–20% of the population. There is a small community of Jews in Rangoon.

TRANSPORTATION

Because of Myanmar's near encirclement by mountain ranges, international land transportation is virtually nonexistent. Historically, Myanmar has been dependent on sea and river transport externally and internally, supplemented in modern times by the airplane. The Myanmar Road, connecting Lashio with Kunming in southern China, and the Ledo Road between Myitkyina and Ledo in Assam, northeastern India, are the only land ties between Myanmar and adjacent nations. There were an estimated 28,200 km (17,523 mi) of roads in 2002, but only 3,440 km (2,138 mi) were paved. In 2003, Myanmar had about 6,800 passenger cars and 14,000 commercial vehicles.

Myanmar's railway system, a government monopoly, operates 3,955 km (2,460 mi) of track, all of which was 1.00 narrow gauge in 2004. The main lines are from Yangon (Rangoon) to Prome (259 km/161 mi) and from Yangon to Mandalay (621 km/386 mi) and then to Myitkyina (1,164 km/723 mi from the capital).

Inland waterways, including some 12,800 km (7,961 mi) of navigable passages (25% of which are navigable by commercial vessels), are the key to internal transportation, partly compensating for limited railroad and highway development. Some 500,000 small river craft ply the Irrawaddy (navigable for about 640 km/400 mi), the Salween, the Sittang, and numerous tributaries. The Irrawaddy Delta, the focus of most water transportation, has some 2,700 km (1,679 mi) of rivers and streams, providing a seaboard for all types of craft. The state merchant fleet totaled 37 ships in 2005, with a combined GRT of 429,144.

Ocean shipping, the traditional means of external transport, is controlled by the government, which operates coastal and oceangoing freight-passenger lines. Yangon, on the Rangoon River about 34 km (21 mi) inland from the Andaman Sea, is the chief port for ocean shipping, handling the majority of the country's seaborne trade; it is also the principal terminus for the highways, railroad, inland waterways, and airways. Other ports include Sittwe (Akyab), serving western Myanmar; Pathein (Bassein), serving the delta area; and Mawlamgine (Moulmein), Dawei (Tavoy), and Mergui, which handle mineral and timber exports of the Tenasserim region.

As of 2004 there were 78 airports. As of 2005, a total of 19 had paved runways, and there was also a single heliport. Mingaladon, outside of Yangon, is the principal airport. In 2003, about 1.117 million passengers were carried on scheduled domestic and international airline flights.

HISTORY

The founding of a kingdom at Pagan in 1044 by Anawrahta marks the beginning of the history of Myanmar (Burma) as a distinct political entity. The kingdom survived until 1287, when it was destroyed by the armies of Kublai Khan, and the next five centuries were marked by disunity. In 1754, Alaungpaya defeated the Shan kingdom in northern Myanmar and the Mon kingdom in southern Myanmar and founded the last ruling dynasty, which was in power until the British came in the early 19th century. The British conquest of the land then known as Burma spanned 62 years: the first Anglo-Burmese War took place during 1824–26, when the British East India Company, acting for the crown, took possession of the Arakan and Tenasserim coastal regions. In 1852, at the end of the second war, the British acquired the remainder of lower Burma; and on 1 January 1886, following Burma's defeat in the third war, total annexation of Burma was proclaimed. Incorporated into the British Indian Empire, Burma was administered as a province of India until 1937, when it became a separate colony. At this time, Burma was permitted some steps toward self-government; however, the British governor retained authority over foreign affairs, defense, currency, and the administration of frontier peoples. From 1886 to 1948, many Burmese agitated and fought continually for independence. The nationalists who finally gained independence for Burma were a group of socialist-minded intellectuals, called the Thakins, from the University of Rangoon. They included Aung San, one of the founders of modern Burma; U Nu, independent Burma's first premier; Shu Maung, also known as Ne Win, later U Nu's chief of staff; and Than Tun, a leader of a Communist revolt (1948–50) against the independent government. At the start of World War II, these anti-British nationalists collaborated with the Japanese, and with the aid of the Burma Independence Army, led by Aung San, the capital, Rangoon (now Yangon) fell to Japan on 8 March 1943. They were soon disappointed with the Japanese occupation, however, and the Burma Independence Army was converted into an anti-Japanese guerrilla force called the Anti-Fascist People's Freedom League, which later assisted the British liberation of Burma. Many of the ethnic nationalities of the frontier regions, such as the Karens and Kachins, had remained loyal to the British, as valued fighters for the Allies. After the war, Aung San negotiated with frontier ethnic leaders, signing the Panglong Agreement on 12 February 1947 with them, as a pledge of autonomy and other rights.

Having assumed leadership of the nationalist movement following the 19 July 1947 assassination of Aung San and six of his associates, U Nu signed an agreement with British Prime Minister Clement Attlee covering economic and defense relationships between the two countries. On 4 January 1948, the sovereign Union of Burma came into being outside the Commonwealth of Nations. After severe setbacks in 1948–49, the U Nu government was able to control a Communist insurgency and consolidate its own power, and in 1951 the nation held its first parliamentary elections. The decade of the 1950s also brought the implementation of an ambitious land reform program and an attempt to forge a neutralist foreign policy, in the face of sporadic Communist resistance and an intermittent border dispute with China. U Nu appointed Gen. Ne Win to head an interim "caretaker government" during a period of instability from 1958 to the 1960 national election (which U Nu's party won.) Ne Win returned to power with a coup d'etat on 2 March 1962. The U Nu government was overthrown, and a military regime headed by a Revolutionary Council and led by Ne Win assumed control. Student protests following the 1962 coup, and again in 1974, were crushed by the army with many civilian casualties. Most major political figures in the democratic governments of the years 1948–62 were arrested but were released in 1966–68, including U Nu. Ne Win rejected a return to a multiparty parliamentary system and proclaimed the Socialist Republic of Burma on 3 January 1974. Under a new constitution, Ne Win became president, and the government continued to be dominated by the military. Ne Win retired as president in November 1981, with Gen. San Yu succeeding him in office; but Ne Win retained his dominance, as chairman of the country's only legal political organization, the Burma Socialist Program Party (BSPP). Insurgency by the underground Communist Party of Burma (CPB) and numerous ethnic armies had begun just after World War II and continued throughout Ne Win's time in power. The general sought to unify the country by giving it a Burmese-ethnic majority identity, and to defeat insurgency with the "four cuts policy" of taking civilian support away from the rebels. Instead, the tactics of his armed forces in ethnic regions drove more and more inhabitants into rebellion.

Despite President San Yu's reelection in 1985 to a four-year term and his appointment as vice chairman of the BSPP, Ne Win continued to dominate the political scene and to make all major and many minor government policy decisions. One such decision, to withdraw large currency notes from circulation in September 1987, threw the economy and the country into turmoil. The move, possibly aimed against black marketeers who had accumulated large sums of money, made 80% of the country's currency valueless, touching off student-led demonstrations. Citing his personal responsibility for dire economic conditions, Ne Win resigned as BSPP party chairman in July 1988. A protégé of Ne Win, Sein Lwin, was made BSPP chairman and president of the country. Sein Lwin's appointment triggered nationwide revolts. A broad spectrum of the population joined in, marching in the streets and going on general strikes throughout Burma. The army opened fire on unarmed protesters, killing thousands, particularly during the first week of August. Sein Lwin resigned on 12 August and Dr. Maung Maung, a civilian lawyer and journalist, was appointed his successor on 19 August. Although Maung Maung proposed multiparty elections and decreed that government employees could not be members of any political party, his refusal to step down provoked further protests. On 18 September 1988 the army abolished the BSPP, took over the government and imposed military rule under the State Law and Order Restoration Council (SLORC) headed by the army Chief of Staff, General Saw Maung. He also named himself prime minister and retained the portfolios of the Defense Ministry and Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Several days of violence occurred countrywide with thousands of civilians, including children, students, and monks, killed by the armed forces. In announcing the takeover, General Saw Maung stated that the military rule would be temporary and that multiparty elections would be held once law and order were reestablished. In February 1989 Japan was the first nation to officially recognize SLORC as the legitimate government. Elections were set for 27 May 1990. On 18 June 1989 the Saw Maung regime renamed Burma "Myanmar Naing Ngan," a formal historical Burmese name for the country. It is colloquially known as "Myanmar," while democracy advocates and the US government continue to use the name "Burma."

With the elections called, political parties formed. First to organize was U Nu's League for Democracy and Peace, later known as the League for Democracy. The BSPP was reformed as the preregime National Union Party (NUP). U Nu had declared an interim government on 9 September 1988, but he garnered little support with his surprise move. In 1988 Aung San Suu Kyi, daughter of assassinated legendary hero General Aung San, had returned to Myanmar to visit her ailing mother. In the midst of the chaos of this period of demonstrations and protests Aung San Suu Kyi rose to prominence delivering speeches and establishing a coalition party opposing the military regime. On 24 September 1988 Suu Kyi with U Tin Oo and Aung Gyi formed the National League for Democracy (NLD). In early 1989 Aung Gyi formed his own organization, the Union Nationals Democracy Party (UNDP). In speeches and interviews Suu Kyi challenged Ne Win's record, characterizing it as one of economic and sociopolitical degeneration. She also protested SLORC's repressive laws and actions. Aung San Suu Kyi was placed under house arrest in Yangon (Rangoon) by Ne Win on 20 July 1989.

The top contenders in the elections were the NUP, the NLD, the UNDP, and the League for Democracy. The NUP was the party favored by the SLORC; and other parties had immense difficulty in campaigning and obtaining publicity. Six other parties figured prominently: the Coalition League for Democratic Multiparty Unity; the Democracy Party; the Union of Burma Main AFPFL Party led by the children of former Premier U Ba Swe; the Democratic National Front for National Reconstruction, a former leftist NUF group; the Graduates and Old Students Democratic Association; and the Original Anti-Fascist People's Freedom League. A total of 93 parties fielded 2,209 candidates who, along with 87 independent candidates, contested 485 seats out of a total of 492 constituencies designated for holding elections. Seven constituencies that were excluded from the election represented mostly the ethnic minority states of insurgency. Over 100 candidates were fielded by each of five parties: The National League for Democracy (NLD), 447 candidates; the National Unity Party (NUP) backed by SLORC, 413 candidates; the League for Democracy and Peace (LDP), 309 candidates (another source indicates 325 candidates); the Union Nationals Democracy Party (UNDP), 247 candidates (another source indicates 270 candidates), and the Democracy Party, 105 candidates. Despite its leader's (Aung San Suu Kyi) incommunicado house arrest, the NLD won the 27 May 1990 general elections by a landslide (392 candidates elected out of its field of 447, or 87.7% of the votes). The NUP took 2.4% of the votes for 10 seats out of 413 fielded. The UNDP, with 0.4% of the vote, took 1 seat in Shan State out of the 247 (270) fielded. The Democracy Party with 0.95% of the vote took 1 seat out of 105 fielded. Of the candidates fielded by the LDP none won a seat. On 18 June 1989 Saw Maung indicated that the transfer of power to the winner of the election would not occur until a new constitution was drafted, one which met with SLORC's approval. However, on 13 July the powerful junta member Lt.-General Khin Nyunt denied the initial promise of an immediate transfer of power made by General Saw Maung. SLORC's further response was to alter the purpose of the newly elected assembly from its original function as a legislative body, to that of a constituent assembly formed to draft the new constitution. SLORC would not transfer power until the resulting draft constitution had been approved both by a referendum and by SLORC.

1990–Present

In September 1990 SLORC revealed its intention to remain in power for a further 5 to 10 years. After his mental collapse in December 1991, Senior General Saw Maung resigned due to ill health on 23 April 1992. On the same day he was replaced as Chairman of SLORC by General Than Shwe who was also named (and remains) Chief of State and Head of the Government. The First Secretary was Lt.-General Khin Nyunt and Second Secretary was Lt.-General Tin Oo. Accompanying these leadership changes SLORC initially indicated that an effort was being made to appease criticism of its methods as hundreds of political prisoners were released. Aung San Suu Kyi's family was allowed to visit her. Two martial law decrees imposed in July 1989 also were lifted in September 1992, and a constitutional convention was promised. In early 1993 a National Convention of 700 mostly hand-picked members met to draft a new constitution. Meeting with resistance and presented with a proposal by Yo E La of the Lahu National Development Party suggesting a return to the basic principles of Myanmar's pre-1962 constitution, a bicameral parliament and the granting of basic freedoms, the convention was adjourned until 7 June 1993. Another impasse occurred with further resistance to certain clauses in the new constitution that the ruling military wanted implemented; the National Convention was adjourned until January 1994. On 18 January 1994 the convention met again to approve six objectives and 104 basic principles which would entrench and perpetuate the power of the military.

The plight of Aung San Suu Kyi garnered the attention of human rights groups internationally. In March 1991, the Geneva UN Human Rights Commission passed a resolution to condemn and monitor the human rights abuses of SLORC, and in subsequent years Special Rapporteurs have been appointed to investigate Myanmar's human rights situation. In 1991 Aung San Suu Kyi was awarded the 1990 Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought by the European Parliament, the 1990 Thorolf Rafto Human Rights Prize by Norway, and on 10 December 1991 Aung San Suu Kyi's son, Alexander, accepted the 1991 Nobel Peace Prize on her behalf. In December 1993 the UN General Assembly unanimously rebuked the military rulers of Myanmar for their refusal to hand over power to the parliament democratically elected in May 1990, and called for the release of political prisoners, including Aung San Suu Kyi, in her fifth year of house arrest. Eight fellow Nobel prize-winners met in Thailand in February 1993 to speak on behalf of Aung San Suu Kyi, but were denied visas to visit Myanmar. US Congressman William Richardson visited with Aung San Suu Kyi, who was still under house arrest in Yangon, on 14–15 February 1994, her first nonfamily visit in four-and-a-half years. Richardson also met with Lieutenant-General Khin Nyunt of the State Law and Order Restoration Council (SLORC).

Another dissenting voice in Myanmar, that of 74-year-old Aung Gyi, founder of the UNDP, was silenced when on 27 April 1993 he was sentenced to a six-month prison term. He had written a series of letters to Ne Win (much as he had paved the way for the pro-democracy movement in 1987–88 with a similar series of letters), and criticized the military regime in interviews with foreign journalists, but was convicted for failing to pay for eggs ordered as supplies for his tea and pastry shops. A type of human rights violation in Myanmar which drew international attention was forced labor, which the government used on tourist projects such as the reconstruction of the palace in Mandalay. Of Mandalay's 500,000 residents each family had to contribute at least three days of free labor each month. The work lasted from dawn until evening and was so strenuous that it took several days to recover from it. Prison inmates were required to work every day. Many military families could be exempted, as could any family that agreed to pay a monthly fine of about us$6, about a week's wages for some families. Forced labor was also used on a vast scale throughout Myanmar, on many building projects including roads and railroads, as well as for carrying supplies and munitions for the SLORC troops in insurgent areas. According to the testimony of escapees, the labor was accompanied by beatings, rape, execution of the ill or slow, and use of civilians as human shields and human mine-detectors. Muslim refugees who fled Myanmar said that Muslims had to pay two to three times as much as others to retain their rice ration card as a fine to escape labor. The SLORC commonly used euphemisms such as "merit-making" or "self reliance" in reference to the forced labor. Asia Watch also reported in 1994 that the government turned a "blind eye to traffic in women and girls from Myanmar to Thailand for forced-prostitution." Corrupt officials on both sides of the border were involved. It was estimated that there were about 20,000 women from Myanmar in Thai brothels, where they were at severe risk of HIV/AIDS infection.

A casualty of the China-Myanmar border agreement of 1988 was the Communist Party of Burma (CPB) which collapsed with the withdrawal of Chinese support and the mutiny of its Wa troops in 1989. The CPB split into four different ethnic armies. SLORC's main objective was to neutralize the border rebel minorities and to prevent urban dissidents from getting access to arms and ammunition. SLORC's strategy was to divide and rule. Karen National Union President Bo Mya held that guerrilla armies should hold joint talks with the government and not negotiate separately. The junta, however, would only negotiate separate agreements or treaties with individual rebel groups. To achieve its objectives SLORC introduced its Border Areas Development Program into ex-CPB areas. Infrastructure improvements of us$11.1 million in roads, bridges, schools, and hospitals were pledged in the state-run media. Necessities such as diesel, petrol, kerosene and rice were distributed. The Wa were the first to negotiate with the junta. In 1989 they were promised development assistance, were allowed to retain their arms, maintain control of their areas, and to engage in any kind of business. In exchange they promised not to attack government forces and to sever their ties with the other dissident groups and students. Throughout the 1990s the cease-fired Wa complained from time to time that little of the promised aid had been delivered, and that their demand to create a separate state was never discussed. The next deal was made with the 2,000-member Shan State Army (SSA), one of the Shan rebel factions, on 2 September 1989. The SSA was followed in December 1990 by a breakaway faction of the Kachin Independence Army (KIA). On 23 April 1991 the 600-member Palaung State Liberation Army made a truce with SLORC. The 500-member Pa-O National Army rebel group also signed a peace treaty with the military regime. Accusations were leveled that the smaller forces were pushed into signing accords by the unremitting abuse of their ethnic civilians by SLORC troops. The Tatmadaw, the SLORC's armed force, had increased its own troop strength from approximately 190,000 to well over 300,000 since the suppression of 1988's pro-democracy uprising.

The Karenni rebels, angry over SLORC logging encroachments in their territory, reversed their cease-fire, in September 1992. The government launched a major counter attack on the Karenni that spilled over the Thai border. Since 1984 the rebel Karen National Union (KNU) had its camps near the Thai border; and tens of thousands of Karen civilians fled from SLORC attacks and forced labor, to the Thai side. Manerplaw was the KNU headquarters and also the seat of the National Coalition Government of the Union of Burma (NCGUB), set up by fugitive members of National League for Democracy and other pro-democracy Members of Parliament elected in the thwarted 1990 polls.

Far to the north, the Kachins who had been in rebellion since 1961, had been the largest military group in a coalition of anti-SLORC ethnic forces. On 24 February 1994 the Kachin Independence Organization (KIO) signed a peace treaty with SLORC. They agreed to a cease-fire in exchange for permission to participate in commerce. Conflict between the SLORC and Shan groups continued. The Mong Tai Army (MTA) of the notorious "opium warlord" Khun Sa fought the Tatmadaw in the mid-1990s, then made a surprise surrender. He was able to spend his "retirement" living in comfort in Yangon (Rangoon). Like another rehabilitated drug lord, Lo Hsing Han, he has engaged in various legitimate business ventures, giving rise to charges of large-scale narcotics money laundering involvement on the part of the junta. Cease-fired Wa officers, from Myanmar's primary opium/heroin production region, are also said to have legitimate business access in Yangon and Mandalay. Some factions of the SSA refused to sign truces with SLORC, and joined in shifting alliances with anti-cease-fire factions of the MTA, continuing to battle the Tatmadaw. In response to Shan and Karenni defiance of the cease-fire policy, the SLORC engaged in enormous forced village relocations in those regions.

Ethnic peoples of western Burma also suffered. The Muslim residents of Arakan, called the Rohingyas, became refugees en masse in the early 1990s. Previously in 1978 the Burmese government had denied them citizenship and launched Operation Naga Min (Dragon King) forcing over 200,000 Rohingyas to seek refuge in Bangladesh. This pattern was repeated in 1991–92. The Rohingyas whose history in the area went as far back as the 9th–15th centuries when Moorish, Arab, and Persian traders arrived and married local women and settled in the area, were displaced from their land and homes. As many as 300,000 Rohingyas fled to Bangladesh when they were forced from their land, their belongings were confiscated and women were raped by government troops. Some co-religionists made statements of protest, but ASEAN offered a policy of "constructive engagement" thus resisting pressures by the United States and European Community (EC) to adopt a stand on human rights abuses. According to this regional attitude, taking a stand would amount to interference in the internal affairs of a neighboring country. The countries of the region for the most part entered into "constructive engagement" with SLORC, gaining trade and investment opportunities, thus altering the status of the Myanmar exiles and refugees within their borders.

The international community has continued to debate the most effective approach for dealing with Myanmar. Up to and following Myanmar's acceptance into ASEAN in July 1997, ASEAN countries and Japan have argued that "engaging" Myanmar is more productive than "isolating" it. This approach gained them controversial timber concessions, energy projects, and some tourism plus manufacturing opportunities. It did not inspire liberalization by the junta. The United States and European Union (EU) have imposed limited economic sanctions, but allowed their petroleum corporations to remain in Myanmar as major investors. Proposals by groups of nations to offer Myanmar's generals economic rewards for steps toward liberalization have been rejected by the junta as "bribery." Aung San Suu Kyi's NLD continues to call for strong economic sanctions as the best way to pressure the junta to the negotiation table, and to deprive the Tatmadaw of the weapons it buys with hard currency (mainly from China and Singapore). The NLD has called for a tourism boycott and for withdrawal of foreign corporations until democracy arrives.

SLORC released Aung San Suu Kyi from house arrest on 10 July 1995. Her freedom was short-lived, however. After large crowds of people began gathering in front of her house for weekly speeches, she was forbidden to address such gatherings. In November 1995, the NLD withdrew from the National Convention which was to formulate a SLORC-approved constitution, in protest of undemocratic policies; in turn SLORC permanently barred the NLD from participation and eventually the Convention meetings were suspended. Suu Kyi announced in May 1996 the NLD's plan to draft its version of the constitution, one that would oust the junta and implement new economic policies for the country.

SLORC curtailed Suu Kyi's attempts at movement outside of Yangon, which she protested with car sit-ins in 1998. NLD members have been detained by the hundreds, and many publicly renounced their membership. The Union Solidarity Defense Association (USDA) was formed by SLORC as a "mass organization" modeled after Sukarno's Golkar in Indonesia. It staged rallies denouncing the NLD, and Suu Kyi was physically threatened by some of its members. A steady campaign of insults against Suu Kyi was featured in the state-run press. In 1999, Suu Kyi's terminally ill British husband, Michael Aris, was denied a visa to see her one last time. The junta stated that she was free to leave Myanmar, but the implication was that she would not be permitted back. Aris died on 27 March. Student demonstrations took place in 1996, and institutions of higher learning were closed down by SLORC. Most universities and colleges remained shut down the majority of the time since 1988 (although as of 2000 some were reopening). Attempts by student activists to mark the tenth anniversary of the "four eights" (8-8-88) democracy uprising, and another auspicious date, 9-9-99, were quickly suppressed. Long jail sentences have been handed down for even mild forms of public protest, and human rights groups report that torture of student dissidents is routine in Myanmar's prisons. Min Ko Naing, an important leader of the 1988 demonstrations, remains in prison. Leo Nichols, an honorary consul for European nations, died in a Myanmar prison, where he was held for unauthorized possession of a fax machine. As the junta attempts to control information, Internet access is extremely limited and unauthorized possession of a modem can earn a 17-year prison sentence.

Using a Buddhist breakaway Karen faction, the Democratic Karen Buddhist Army (DKBA), against the Christian-led KNU, the Tatmadaw was able to over-run Manerplaw and destroy most of the Karen rebel bases in 1995. Tatmadaw and DKBA troops entered Thailand in late January 1997 and attacked Karen refugee camps. A highly controversial natural gas pipeline across the region of southern Burma called the Tenasserim apparently inspired SLORC military campaigns against Mon and Karen rebels in that area. The Mon rebels signed a cease-fire agreement, but numerous Tatmadaw battalions were brought in to protect the pipeline project from Karen sabotage. The multinational petroleum companies involved, Total of France and Unocal from the United States, were accused by human rights and environmental groups of complicity in human rights violations, including forced labor and forced relocation, committed by the SLORC's security forces. Victims of such abuses sued Unocal, achieving a multi-million dollar settlement, in a groundbreaking US court case. The pipeline began bringing natural gas from Myanmar's Andaman Sea to an electrical generating plant on the Thai side of the border in 1999. Outside economic pressure built up during the 1990s, in the form of consumer boycotts of companies doing business in Myanmar, limited US economic sanctions, and "selective purchasing" laws by cities. Massachusetts' "Burma selective purchasing law" was brought to the Supreme Court in 2000. By that year, foreign investment in Myanmar had decreased markedly, due to sanctions pressures, the Asian economic crisis, and concerns about corruption in the State Peace and Development Council (SLORC was renamed the SPDC in 1997)-controlled economy. In June 1999, the International Labor Organization of the UN essentially expelled Myanmar from its ranks, following a detailed investigation of forced labor under the SPDC. In early 2000, the World Bank issued a report highly critical of Myanmar's economic and political climate. The World Bank and International Monetary Fund have been barred from lending to Myanmar.

The Myanmar government has also come under considerable international criticism for its complicity in the country's massive drug trade. Myanmar is one of the world's largest producers of opium and heroin. Since 1990, the country has also become one of the largest manufacturers of illicit methamphetamine. Thai officials voiced dismay over the flood of "speed" pills into Thailand from Myanmar (particularly the Wa region, where a cease-fire is in effect) and the seeming callousness of the Myanmar government regarding the drug trade. Myanmar is the main source of heroin in China, where addiction grew seven-fold from 1989 to 1997. A 1999 Interpol conference on narcotic suppression, held in Yangon, was boycotted by the United States and other governments as a protest against the junta's apparent profiting from drug trafficking.

With burgeoning drug production in the north of Myanmar has also come a raging HIV/AIDS epidemic. International health organizations estimated the number of Burmese infected in the north alone at 350,000–400,000 in 1996. The HIV/AIDS virus has spread unchecked in Myanmar through the use of contaminated needles by drug addicts, by unsafe medical practices, and by infected Burmese women returning from forced prostitution in Thailand. AIDS education, prevention, and care programs have been a low priority in Myanmar. The United Nation's Global Fund withdrew its AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis program from Myanmar in August 2005, claiming that government restrictions made it impossible for the grants to be implemented effectively.

Aung San Suu Kyi was again placed under house detention in September 2000; she was released in May 2002, and toured the country, speaking out in support of democratization. She urged the international community in August to keep economic sanctions against the SPDC in place until a democratic dialogue reached a more meaningful stage. During 2001, over 200 NLD activists were released from detention; in November 2002, another 115 political prisoners were released. The most violent attack on the NLD occurred 30 May 2003 at Depayin in northern Burma. A convoy carrying Aung San Suu Kyi, who had been touring the north and speaking to large crowds, and her supporters, was attacked by a mob of young men, reportedly under the instigation of the military and USDA. Dozens of NLD supporters were killed in the assault, and many more were arrested. Aung San Suu Kyi was injured and placed under house arrest back in Yangon. A crackdown on the NLD followed, with offices closed and members arrested. The "Depayin Massacre" was condemned by governments and international organizations. The SPDC freed about 40 political prisoners in November 2004. The highest-profile dissident released at that time was Min Ko Naing, one of the main leaders of the 1988 uprising. He had been imprisoned, often in solitary confinement, since 1989. On his release he remained a strong and articulate critic of the regime.

On 5 December 2002, General Ne Win died under house arrest. He had been arrested in March for plotting a coup against the military regime. Ne Win's three grandsons and son-in-law remained in jail, sentenced to death for their plot in the supposed coup.

During 2001 and 2002, relations between Myanmar and Thailand improved. The two countries held talks in June 2001, attempting to ameliorate disagreements over the drug trade and border tensions. By September, Myanmar pledged to eliminate drug trade in the Golden Triangle by 2005. Thailand committed funds to finance a crop substitution program, and the two countries regarded themselves as good neighbors. However, in May 2002, Myanmar closed its border with Thailand after the Thai army fired shells into Myanmar's territory during a battle between the SPDC and ethnic Shan rebels. The border was reopened in October. As Myanmar's turn to take the chair manship of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) for 2006 approached, calls were heard from the international community for Myanmar to be deprived of that honor because of the SPDC's human rights violations and authoritarian government. In July 2005, it was announced that Myanmar would relinquish the chair position, to focus on "the ongoing national reconciliation and democratization process."

In December 2000, Amnesty International reported that torture was increasing in Myanmar despite official military statements that it is illegal. In November 2001, the International Labour Organization (ILO) sent a mission to Myanmar to investigate governmental measures taken to end its program of forced labor. The mission reported some progress, but expressed "profound concern" that the governmental measures had had a limited impact. On 12 February 2003, the UN marked the anniversary of the entry into force of an international treaty banning child soldiers, but warned that the problem of child soldiers is still prevalent. In Myanmar, an estimated 70,000 children are in uniform in the state army. Many are forcibly conscripted by kidnapping or threats of prison at ages as young as 11.

GOVERNMENT

The Socialist Republic of the Union of Burma was announced on 3 January 1974, after a new basic law had been approved by plebiscite. Under the 1974 constitution (which was suspended in September 1988), the leading organ of state power was the 489-member unicameral People's Assembly (Pyithu Hluttaw). The head of state was the chairman of the Council of State (29 members in 1986), which was elected by the People's Assembly and theoretically responsible to it. The prime minister headed the Council of Ministers (24 members in 1986) and also served on the Council of State. Other main governmental organs were the Council of People's Justices (9 members), the Council of People's Attorneys (6), the Council of People's Inspectors (6), and the people's councils at the level of the state (or division), township, and ward or village tract. Nationwide legislative elections were held in 1974, 1978, 1981, and 1985; in each election, voters either accepted or rejected candidates from a single slate presented by the ruling Burma Socialist Program Party (BSPP). Suffrage is universal at age 18, although the military has taken measures to discourage voter registration. A military coup in September 1988 brought the State Law and Order Restoration Council (SLORC) to power. SLORC abolished the previous government and placed the country under martial law. In June 1989, the official title of the country was changed to Myanmar Naing Ngan. The SLORC junta supervised and coordinated the work of the central and local organs of state power. It renamed itself the State Peace and Development Council (SPDC) in November 1997.

In the multiparty election held 27 May 1990, Aung San Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy (NLD) received 87.7% of the total vote and took 392 of its 447 contested seats, and the National Unity Party (NUP), the former BSPP re-registered as a new party, took only 10 seats with 2.4% of the votes.

SLORC refused to hand over power to the NLD, instead voiding the election and insisting that a new constitution need be drafted and approved by referendum, and by SLORC, prior to the transfer of power. Senior General Saw Maung resigned due to ill health on 23 April 1992 and General Than Shwe replaced him on the same day as Chairman of SLORC and as Chief of State and Head of the Government. Vice chairman of the SPDC is General Maung Aye. The Foreign Minister is Win Aung, and the Home Affairs Minister is Tin Hlaing. Lt. Gen. Tin Oo, former second secretary of the SPDC and chief of staff of the army, died in a helicopter crash 19 February 2002. The other two "secretaries" of the SPDC were Lt.-General Khin Nyunt and Lt.-General Win Myint. A sudden purge in October 2004 removed Khin Nyunt from power. He was arrested and charged with corruption, with a 44-year suspended sentence. The purge extended to his Military Intelligence apparatus, with MI officers arrested and their assets confiscated throughout Myanmar. The ousting of Khin Nyunt left the SPDC firmly under the control of Than Shwe and the equally "hardline" Maung Aye, who appeared inclined to take a less conciliatory policy toward armed ethnic groups than Khin Nyunt, the architect of the cease-fire strategy. On 7 May 2005 bomb blasts at a convention center and two supermarkets in Yangon killed 11 people. The SPDC blamed opposition groups for the explosions, while some analysts linked the bombings to internal power struggles within the regime itself.

A drastic step was taken on 6 November 2005 when government ministries were compelled to leave Yangon (Rangoon) for a new capital still under construction at Pyinmana in the mountains 400 km north of Yangon. The motives for the large-scale mass relocation to a place with little infrastructure completed were unclear, but speculation ranged from fear of military attack to an attempt at more centralized control of the country to a form of "preventive magic." Civil servants were reluctant to make the move, but were compelled to go, without their families, to the government complex at Pyinmana named Nay Pyi Daw, "Place of Kings."

POLITICAL PARTIES

Between 1948 and 1962, Burma's parties were mostly socialist in economic orientation. The most important of these was the Anti-Fascist People's Freedom League (AFPFL), which gained independence for the country and which included within its ranks the distinct Burma Socialist Program Party. The AFPFL governed the country from 1948. In 1958, tensions within the government, and insurgency in the countryside, prompted Prime Minister U Nu to temporarily hand over power to a "caretaker" government headed by General Ne Win. When U Nu's new Union Party won a landslide victory in 1960 elections, Ne Win relinquished power to him. Then on 2 March 1962, Ne Win staged a coup d'etat and began his long rule with the one-party (Burma Socialist Program Party) state.

Other parties before 1962 included two Communist movements, the "White Flags" and the "Red Flags," both of which took up arms early after independence and were later defeated by the government (the White Flags, however, were not completely eradicated until 1975). An above-ground Communist Party existed after 1949 and became the nucleus of the National United Front (NUF) in 1952. Both the Communists and the NUF, like all other parties except the ruling military-dominated Burma Socialist Program Party (BSPP), were banned in 1974. The well-armed Communist Party of Burma (CPB) insurgents based themselves primarily in northeast Burma, along the China border. Chinese support for the Communist party of Burma (CPB) continued well after support for the Communist parties of Malaysia and Thailand was withdrawn, but from the mid-1980s aid did not compare with a decade earlier. In 1989 the CPB was overthrown by its troops, many of whom regrouped as the United Wa State Army, which soon signed a cease-fire deal with the State Law and Order Restoration Council (SLORC).

Burmese independence leader General Aung San had negotiated the Panglong Agreement with representatives of frontier ethnic groups in 1947, but issues of autonomy and federalism have never been resolved. Numerous ethnic parties with armed wings were formed in the mid- to late-20th century, including the Karen National Union, Kachin Independence Organization, New Mon State Party, Karenni National Progressive Party, Shan State Progress Party, Arakan Liberation Party, and Chin National Front. Umbrella groups of the ethnic insurgents were established, notably the National Democratic Front, followed by the Democratic Alliance of Burma. In the 1990s, many ethnic organizations signed cease-fire agreements with the SLORC. A continuous demand of the opposition is "tri-partite negotiations" between the SLORC/SPDC junta, Aung San Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy, and representatives of the ethnic groups. Most of the ethnic leaders favor a federal union of Burma based on ethnic regions. The SPDC arrested 10 Shan political leaders in February 2005 following a meeting they held in the Shan State. In May 2005, several veteran Shan political exiles issued a declaration of independence for their ethnic group, putting them at odds with the federalist policies of other ethnic activists and the NLD.

The democracy uprising of 1988 ended with the 18 September coup which installed the military officers of the State Law and Order Restoration Council (SLORC). The Burma Socialist Program Party was formally abolished, and all governing authority was concentrated in the hands of the military. The earliest formation of the State Law and Order Restoration Council (SLORC) was made up of 17 active military commanders of the Defense Services. On 18 September 1988 it was renamed the Organization for Building Law and Order in the State (OBLOS) and two more members were added. On 20 September 1988 the final version of the SLORC government was formed by maintaining the 19 members and adding two nonmembers to the Cabinet, increasing the number of Cabinet ministers from seven to nine. On 24 September 1988 the BSPP was reborn as the National Unity Party (NUP), inheriting the buildings and machinery of the old BSPP. Allied to the NUP were satellite parties, the former supporters of the BSPP.

On 24 September 1988 the National League for Democracy (NLD), a coalition party, was formed in opposition to the military regime. Leaders Aung San Suu Kyi and Aung Gyi soon parted ways over the latter's accusations of communist infiltration of the NLD. On 28 August 1988 U Nu, at age 83, with his followers from the older generation formed the League for Democracy and Peace (LDP), latter known as the League for Democracy. The NLD won the 27 May 1990 elections by a landslide, electing 392 candidates; the NUP took 10 seats; the UNDP and the Democracy Party took 1 seat each; and the LDP did not win any seats. In April/May 1991 the Election Commission dropped the names of the NLD's General Secretary Aung San Suu Kyi and President U Tin Oo from a roster of NLD leaders, as well as the names of all other Central Executive Committee members who were jailed. NLD leader Aung San Suu Kyi was placed under house arrest from 20 July 1989 to 10 July 1995, from 2 September 2000 to 6 May 2002, and from May 2003 onwards. NLD members have been detained and imprisoned in ever-increasing numbers, and many have been pressured to renounce their membership at public rallies of the junta-sponsored Union Solidarity Defense Association (USDA) a mass organization formed in September 1993 to support the ruling military. Aung San Suu Kyi's 60th birthday, 19 June 2005, was marked by international protests of her continuing house arrest, and 24 October 2005, her tenth cumulative year of arrest was another day of protest by overseas Burmese. A campaign to pressure the UN Security Council to put Burma on its agenda was launched by former Czech Republic President Vaclav Havel and South Africa's Archbishop Desmond Tutu, in October 2005.

Dr. Sein Win of the Party for National Democracy, winner of a seat in Pegu District, and seven NLD members legitimately elected to parliament but not recognized by SLORC, fled to border areas and formed a parallel government, the National Coalition Government Union of Burma (NCGUB). Sein Win was named prime minister of the NCGUB, which is now headquartered in Washington, D.C., where it serves as a diplomatic vehicle for the international exiled Burmese democracy movement.

On 29 January 1992 SLORC appointed additional ministers, mostly serving or ex-military, to the original nine-member cabinet, and three new military commanders were added to the original nineteen-member SLORC. Senior General Saw Maung resigned due to ill health on 23 April 1992. He was replaced as Chairman of SLORC by General Than Shwe on 23 April 1992. Than Shwe was named Chief of State and Head of the Government. First Secretary is Major-General Khin Nyunt and Second Secretary was Major-General Tin Oo, until his death in a helicopter crash in February 2002. Lt.-Gen. Win Myint is the other secretary of the SPDC. The SLORC changed its name to State Peace and Development Council (SPDC) in November 1997. The National Convention, aimed at drafting a new constitution has been suspended indefinitely, and the NLD withdrew from the process in protest at its being used to legitimize the junta. Other parties have objected to the National Convention's insensitivity to ethnic rights issues.

LOCAL GOVERNMENT

Myanmar is a unitary nation, ruled by a military junta, comprising seven states and seven divisions. The main distinction between the two kinds of units, which are functionally the same, is that the states represent an area where a national ethnic minority is the local majority, while the divisions have no such communal basis. The states are Arakan (Rakhine), Chin, Kachin, Karen (Kayin), Kayah, Mon, and Shan. The divisions are Irrawaddy, Magwe, Mandalay, Bago (Pegu), Sagaing, Yangon (Rangoon), and Tenasserim. States and divisions are segmented into 317 townships. Village tracts consist of villages, and towns are divided into wards. Law and Order Restoration Councils (LORCs) serve as local administration, although regional army commanders control the actual decision making process. A LORC was formed for each State, Division, Township Sector and Ward/Village Sector. Military campaigns of forced village relocations, especially in the Shan and Karenni states and Tenasserim Division, have changed the rural map of Myanmar and placed much of the agricultural population under direct army control. In some frontier areas where cease-fire groups (such as the UWSA or KIO) still hold significant territory, administration is by the former insurgent leadership.

JUDICIAL SYSTEM

The British-style judicial organs with which Burma began its independence, including a supreme court, were disbanded by Ne Win's Revolutionary Council. The 1974 constitution, suspended since 1988, provided for a Council of People's Justices, state and divisional judges' committees, and township, ward, and village tract judges' committees. The Council of People's Justices was elected by the national assembly from among its own members; nominations were made by the Council of State, which coordinated relations between central and local levels of government. Military tribunals which enforced orders issued by the State Law and Order Restoration Council (SLORC) were abolished in 1992. Ordinary courts now handle such cases, with heavy military influence. The Supreme Court appoints judges after approval of the SPDC. There are courts at the township, district, state, and national levels. The SPDC has used laws such as the Emergency Provisions Act and the Unlawful Associations Act to crack down on dissent. Human rights organizations such as Amnesty International and the United Nations have criticized the SPDC for unfair trials and arbitrary imprisonment, as well as use of torture and summary execution.

ARMED FORCES

The armed forces play the major role in Myanmar's politics and administration; senior members of the government are officers who govern under martial law.

Myanmar's armed forces had 428,000 active personnel in 2005, including the paramilitary People's Militia and People's Police Force, which had 35,000 and 72,000 active personnel, respectively. The Army, with 350,000 personnel, had an equipment roster that included 150 main battle tanks, 105 light tanks, of which an estimated 60 were thought to be serviceable, 115 reconnaissance vehicles, 325 armored personnel carriers, and over 388 artillery pieces. The Navy had an estimated 13,000 members, including 800 naval infantry troops. Major fleet units included 4 corvettes, 71 patrol/coastal vessels, and 11 amphibious landing craft. The Air Force had 12,000 personnel and had 125 combat capable aircraft, including 58 fighters and 22 fighter ground attack aircraft. The service also operated 29 support helicopters. The military budget in 2005 totaled $6.85 billion. Various rebel groups were estimated at perhaps 15,000 and operate inside and outside of northern Myanmar.

INTERNATIONAL COOPERATION

Myanmar was admitted to the United Nations on 19 April 1948; it is a member of ESCAP and several nonregional specialized agencies, such as the FAO, IAEA, the World Bank, ILO, UNSECO, UNIDO, and the WHO. Regional bodies to which Myanmar belongs include the WTO, the Asian Development Bank, ASEAN, G-77, the Bangladesh, India, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, and Thailand Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC), and the Colombo Plan. Myanmar is a member of the Nonaligned Movement. In environmental cooperation, Myanmar is part of the Convention on Biological Diversity, CITES, International Tropical Timber Agreements, the Kyoto Protocol, the Montréal Protocol, MARPOL, the Nuclear Test Ban Treaty, and the UN Conventions on the Law of the Sea, Climate Change, and Desertification.

ECONOMY

Agriculture is the largest sector of the economy, contributing 54.6% of GDP in 2005 and employing about 70% of the labor force. Myanmar is self-sufficient in food. Principal crops are paddy rice, corn, oilseed, sugarcane, and pulses. Traditionally rice was the major product and the major foreign exchange earner, accounting for about 70% of the country's cultivated land. In 1996, rice exports quadrupled to $197 million, and accounted for 22% of merchandise exports. The Asian financial crisis of 1997 hit Myanmar hard, reducing rice exports by about one-third. The major recipients of Myanmar's rice are Indonesia and China. Myanmar is also the world's largest exporter of teak, producing 80% of world supply.

Industries include agricultural processing, textiles and footwear, wood and wood products, petroleum refining, mining production (mainly copper, tin, tungsten, and iron), construction materials, pharmaceuticals, and fertilizer. In 2005, industrial production accounted for 13% of GDP. In the past Myanmar was a net petroleum exporter, but production decreased steadily. Both oil and gas exploration is on-going with the participation of foreign companies, and in 1997/98 the energy sector grew by 37.7% (from virtual nonexistence) due to investment in the Yadana natural gas pipeline to Thailand, which came on-line in 1999. The $1.2 billion pipeline was a joint venture between the California company Unocal and the Myanmar military government. The government has plans to develop a $1 billion Myanmar-Bangladesh-India pipeline. For the most part, Myanmar's significant mineral resources have not been fully developed due to out-dated equipment and poor management.

Infrastructure is a major impediment to economic growth. Water treatment and distribution, sewage disposal, and irrigation systems, as well as power transmission and distribution, require up-grading. Industry faces chronic shortages of electricity. Roads are poor and many are not passable during parts of the year. Telephone facilities are lacking, but a telecommunications modernization program begun in the 1990s included the installation of a cellular telephone system in Yangon; as of yearend 2005, Myanmar had more than 135,000 mobile phones in use. The financial sector suffers from excessive bureaucratic red tape and foot-dragging by state economic enterprises fearing competition. The government drafted new laws on a central banking and financial institutions as steps toward improvement in the financial sector.

The government reported that the economy grew by 6% in 1995 and 6.8% in 1996. Growth was estimated by the US State Department at 1.1% for 1998. In 1999 strong growth of 10.9% was reported, propelled by a 13.8% growth in industry and 11.5% growth in agriculture. The government reported growth in 2000 at 13.6% overall but according to the Asian Development Bank (ADB), independent estimates suggested more modest progress of around 6%. Inflation had averaged about 25% for more than a decade, but a drop in food prices due to a bumper rice crop (and the heavy weight given rice in Myanmar's consumer price index) brought a sharp drop in inflation, to a negative 0.1% according to government statistics. In 2001 a slower annual growth of 5% was reported with a 9.6% resurgence of inflation.

The US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) estimated that in 2005, the GDP growth rate stood at 1.5%. Official government statistics put the growth rate in 2004 at 13.8%. The CIA estimated the inflation rate to be 18% in 2005.

It should be noted that it is difficult to assess the true economic situation in Myanmar due to the existence of an enormous and all-pervasive informal market. Much of Myanmar's economic activity is illicit, notably the smuggling of drugs. Myanmar, which forms part of the "Golden Triangle" (along with Laos and Thailand), is the world's second-largest producer of illegal opiates. The government's efforts to control poppy production and drug traffic to China and Hong Kong are ineffective. Myanmar is also the primary source of amphetamine-type in Asia, producing hundreds of millions of tablets per year. Since 1989, the only kind of US aid for which Myanmar has been eligible, besides humanitarian aid, is counter-narcotic and crop substitution assistance, because of the human rights issues involved with the imposition of military rule in 1988. Large quantities of smuggled consumer goods are sold in Myanmar's cities, where the black market thrives.

The military regime, SLORC, which took over Myanmar in 1988, proclaimed a market oriented economic policy and invited foreign investment. A 1992 United Nations Development Programme report noted that Myanmar after a few years of recovery from the economic and political upheaval of 1988 was again slipping into recession and hyperinflation. Myanmar's main donors suspended aid. The country has not fully serviced its foreign debt since 1988. Two trends have been apparent in the government's economic policies: the capture of revenues from short term, quick turnover sources such as hardwoods, prospecting rights, and taxes on profits from illegal sources; and spending patterns that emphasize defense spending and acquisition of armaments. An estimated 87% of tax revenues are spent on the military whereas expenditures on health and on education both amount to less than 0.5% of GDP. Myanmar receives no aid from US or EU programs and aid from Japan is run at a maintenance level. The International Monetary Fund (IMF), the World Bank, and the Asian Development Bank (ADB) extend no credit to Myanmar. The economy has been hurt by economic sanctions imposed by the United States: the United States imports no goods from Myanmar and bans the export of financial services from the United States to Myanmar. A number of other countries, including member states of the EU, Canada, Australia, Japan, and South Korea, have joined the United States in applying some form of sanctions against the regime.

INCOME

The US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) reports that in 2005 Myanmar's gross domestic product (GDP) was estimated at $76.2 billion. The CIA defines GDP as the value of all final goods and services produced within a nation in a given year and computed on the basis of purchasing power parity (PPP) rather than value as measured on the basis of the rate of exchange based on current dollars. The per capita GDP was estimated at $1,800. The annual growth rate of GDP was estimated at 1.5%. The average inflation rate in 2005 was 18%. It was estimated that agriculture accounted for 54.6% of GDP, industry 45%, and services 50%.

According to the World Bank, in 2003 remittances from citizens working abroad totaled $78 million.

It was estimated that for the period 1990 to 2003 household consumption grew at an average annual rate of 3.9%. It was estimated that in 2000 about 25% of the population had incomes below the poverty line.

LABOR

In 2005, Myanmar's civilian labor force was estimated at 27.75 million. As of 2001 (the latest year for which data was available), an estimated 70% were engaged in agriculture, primarily rice cultivation, while industry accounted for 7% and services 23%. The unemployment rate was estimated at 5% in 2005.

No trade union or independent labor movement activity has occurred since 1988, when the government banned the workers' and peasants' organizations of the previous government, thereby eliminating any right to bargain collectively. Forced labor is frequently used by the military for building projects. Prison labor is also extensively used, especially in stone quarrying projects. Wage levels continue to be low and have been eroded by inflation.

While the official minimum working age is 13, the presence of child labor is conspicuous in both rural and urban areas. In the latter areas, most children work in small or family-owned businesses, while in rural areas children are employed in agricultural activities. Official data for 2002, shows that 6% of children in urban areas worked, but of that total, only 4% received wages.

Only government workers and employees of a few traditional industries are covered by a minimum wage. As of 2005, salaried public employees had a minimum wage of $0.13 per day for an eight hour workday, an amount that was grossly inadequate to support a worker and a family with a decent living standard. Inadequate wages, even among senior officials, has led to absenteeism and widespread corruption. In the private sector, laborers in urban areas earned about $0.50 to $1.00 per day, while workers in agricultural areas earned about half that amount. A skilled factory worker can earn around $3.00 a day. Health and safety risks in the workplace are prevalent.

AGRICULTURE

Myanmar's exports of food accounted for 15% of its foreign exchange earnings in 2004. About 17% of the land is under cultivation. Agriculture generates roughly 70% of employment and 40% of the recorded GDP.

Rice, by far the most important agricultural product, in 2004 covered about 6 million hectares (14.8 million acres) of land in the fertile Irrawaddy delta region, the lower valleys of the Sittang and Salween rivers, and along the Arakan and Tenasserim coasts. Prior to World War II (1939–45), Myanmar was the world's leading exporter of rice; annual production ranged between 13 million and 14 million tons, of which about three million tons were exported. However, the war caused extensive damage to the economy, and Myanmar did not achieve prewar levels of rice acreage and output until 1964. Rice production totaled 9.57 million tons in 2004/05. Farmers have been instructed by the government to double-crop wet season paddy and triple-crop in areas with year-round access to water. In some areas near the sea, multiple cropping brings saltwater intrusion, high flood risks, and seasonal pest problems. New high-yield varieties of rice have contributed to the increases in recent years, along with the completion of new irrigation systems and flood-control dams in the Irrawaddy delta during the early 1980s.

Other crops in 2004, grown mainly in central Myanmar and the state of Shan, included 6,368,000 tons of sugarcane, 715,000 tons of groundnuts, 600,000 tons of corn, and 550,000 tons of sesame. The use of high-yield varieties of seeds helped to more than triple the output of wheat, corn, and sunflower seeds and to double cotton production during 1976–86. Tobacco and jute are also produced, and rubber is grown on small plantations in the Tenasserim and Irrawaddy delta regions. During the mid-1990s, Myanmar was the world's largest producer of opium and heroin, with opium production estimated at 2,560 tons in 1996. In 2003, opium poppy production was estimated at only 484 tons.

The total amount of land under cultivation declined in the 1970s, but the amount of paddy land increased. The Mu Valley irrigation project, implemented in north-central Myanmar with UNDP aid in the 1970s, irrigated 1.7 million hectares (4.2 million acres) of farmland. With the completion of the Nawin Dam in 1982, about 40,000 hectares (99,000 acres) of new irrigated land in the Prome region, north of Yangon (Rangoon), were added to the cultivated area. With IBRD and Asian Development Bank aid, new rice storage facilities, a system of drainage canals in the heavy-rainfall paddy land of lower Myanmar, and gravity irrigation systems in dry zones were constructed.

ANIMAL HUSBANDRY

Despite Buddhist prohibitions against any kind of animal slaughter, the Myanma eat beef and other meats. Zebu cattle and water buffalo are mainly raised as draft animals; the output of such hides was 24,000 tons in 2005. Dairy farming is confined to the Shan and Kachin states; hogs and poultry are found in virtually every village.

In 2005, Myanmar had an estimated 12,000,000 head of cattle, 5,220,000 hogs, 2,700,000 water buffalo, 1,800,000 goats, 492,000 sheep, and 88,000,000 chickens, and 8,000,000 ducks. Meat production was 632,000 tons; milk from cattle, 677,000 tons (80% cow, 20% buffalo); eggs, 1,452,000 tons.

FISHING

Fishing is the most significant nonagricultural pursuit in Myanmar. Fish, which supply the main protein element in the Myanma diet, generally are dried and salted before marketing or consumed fresh or as fish paste. Roho labeo and various carp are the main species caught. Traditionally, the Myanma preferred fish from fresh or brackish water; but saltwater fishing in the shallow waters of the Bay of Bengal, Andaman Sea, and Gulf of Martaban has increased in recent years. To encourage a larger saltwater catch, the government embarked on expanded deep-sea fishing operations and erected a cold storage plant, a fish cannery, and a fish oil and meal factory. The total fish catch in 2003 was 1,606,252 tons (67% saltwater, 23% freshwater), up from 686,515 tons in 1986. Aquaculture accounted for 16% of production in 2003. That year, exports of fish products were valued at $142.6 million.

FORESTRY

Forests and woodland cover nearly half the country, even though the annual deforestation rate was 0.68% during 1975–89. Some 38% of the forest was Reserved Forest Area in 2001. Myanmar has a major share of the world's teak reserves, which constitute about one-third of the forested area. As the world's leading exporter of teak, Myanmar supplies about 75% of the world market. The lumbering of teak, a 10-year process from the first girdling of the tree to its arrival at the sawmill, was disrupted by World War II (1939–45); production rebounded to about 136,000 tons in 1986. Increased output of teak in the 1980s was attributable to completion of four modern timber-extraction projects. Teak log production totaled 2.21 million cu m (78.1 million cu ft) in 2004. A special teak plantation program begun in 1998 will provide a sustainable production of 1.8 million cu m (63.5 million cu ft) per year. Roundwood production in 2004 totaled 39.8 million cu m (1.4 billion cu ft). Other forest products include lac, catechu resin, and bamboo.

All foreign timber concessions have been nationalized, and all forests are government-owned; the State Timber Board (STB) lumbers, mills, and markets forest products. The export of forest products rose in value from $294.1 million in 1993 to $401.1 million in 2004.

MINING

With the exception of precious gemstones, of which Myanmar had large resources, mineral production was small, and mostly for domestic consumption. The mining sector, including oil and gas, contributed 2% of GDP in 2001. Copper, tin, tungsten, iron, construction materials, and fertilizer were among the country's leading industries in 2002; precious stones ranked fourth among export commodities, supplying 2% of export earnings.

Estimated outputs for 2003 were: copper (metal content), 27,900 metric tons, up from 27,500 metric tons in 2002; tin (metal content, from tin and tin-tungsten concentrate), 210 metric tons, unchanged from 2002; tungsten (metal content, from tin and tin-tungsten concentrate), 30 metric tons, unchanged from 2002; jade, 11 million kg, up from 10,800,000 kg in 2002; and spinel rubies and sapphires, 4.7 million carats, down from 4,769,511 carats in 2002. Metallic ores of chromite, gold, lead, manganese, nickel, silver, and zinc were mined in small amounts. Industrial mineral production included construction aggregates, barite, hydraulic cement, fire clay, feldspar, gypsum, limestone, salt (including brine salt), sand and gravel, and silica sand. Lead, zinc, silver, copper, nickel, and cobalt were produced at the Bawdwin mine, in Namtu. No carbonate rocks, or cobalt was produced in 2003. Deposits of iron ore and antimony have been found.

The government controlled all mineral exploration, extraction, regulation, and planning through the two departments and six enterprises of the Ministry of Mines. In 2001, state-owned enterprises—whose share of output was 5.5% (11.6% in 1998)—operated one gold mine (the Kyaukpahtoe), three nonferrous metals mines (the Bawdwin, Bawsaing, and the Yadanatheingi), and two coal mines. Of the four foreign exploration companies active in 2000, two were active in 2001—mining gypsum, zinc, and gold. The Myalate Taung limestone resources, in Kyaukse Township, Mandalay Division, had 291 million tons.

ENERGY AND POWER

Myanmar's production of crude oil in 2002 averaged 15,000 barrels per day, with imports of crude averaging 8,120 barrels per day. Refined petroleum product output that year averaged 21,500 barrels per day, with demand for refined oil products at 34,500 barrels per day.

Gross natural gas output in 2002 came to 310.77 billion cu ft, with 3.53 billion cu ft vented or flared. Marketed output came to 307.24 billion cu ft of which dry production and consumption came to 296.65 billion cu ft and 77.69 billion cu ft, respectively.

Coal production in 2002 totaled 130,000 short tons, of which bituminous and brown coal (lignite) came to 63,000 short tons and 67,000 short tons, respectively.

Production of electricity in 2002 totaled 6.329 billion kWh, of which thermal plants provided about 65% and hydroelectric power about 35%. Electric power capacity came to 1.573 million kW in 2002, with conventional thermal supplying 75% of capacity. Electric power consumption in 2002 came to 5.886 billion kWh.

INDUSTRY

Industry is geared largely to the processing of agricultural, mineral, and forest products. More than half of Myanmar industrial production is accounted for by the public sector. Principal industrial products are cement, steel, bricks and tiles, fertilizers, and processed foods. Consumer goods that were imported before 1962 and are now manufactured domestically include blankets, paper, glass products, bicycles, and water pumps. Other major consumer manufactures are aluminum ware, jute and cotton cloth, pharmaceuticals, beverages, matches, and cigarettes. There is also a growing segment engaged in the assembly of television sets and motor vehicles. The main industrial area is Bago (formerly Pegu). Some manufacturing industries are privately owned and operated under government supervision.

Industrial production grew by 9.2% in fiscal year 1995–96, and represented about 11% of the gross domestic product in 1997. In 1998, despite the effects of the Asian financial crisis, industrial production grew 6.1%. Growth increased to 13.8% in 1999, when an estimated 10% of the labor force was employed in the industrial sector. In 2000, it was estimated that industry constituted 17% of GDP. In 2005, industry accounted for 13% of GDP. As of 2001, approximately 7% of the labor force was engaged in industrial production. The petroleum and petrochemical sector in Myanmar is entirely state-owned (excluding indigenous fuels such as charcoal). In 2006, Myanmar had three state-owned oil refineries. The $1.2 billion natural gas pipeline connecting to Thailand began operations in 1999, and plans for a $1 billion Myanmar-Bangladesh-India gas pipeline were underway in 2006.

SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

Scientific research is conducted by the private Burma Research Society, founded in 1910, and by the government's Central Research Organization, consisting of various departments of the state ministries. Four institutes conduct research in applied sciences, medicine, and atomic energy. In addition, the Department of Land Management Studies Research of the Institute of Economics investigates problems posed by modernization techniques and industrial development. The Universities of Mandalay, Mawlamyine, and Yangon offer degrees in basic sciences. In 1987–97, science and engineering students accounted for 56% of college and university enrollments.

DOMESTIC TRADE

In 1964, the Ne Win government nationalized all wholesale businesses and the large private and cooperative shops; small retail shops, hotels, restaurants, and village cooperatives were exempted. The People's Stores Corp., established in 1964, was initially responsible for the importation and distribution of essential foreign goods, the distribution of consumer goods produced in Myanmar, and the sale of domestic products in foreign markets. The corporation was administered by a council headed by the Ministry of Supplies and Cooperatives. In 1970, the "people's stores," most of which had been unsuccessful, were replaced by consumer cooperatives. Beginning in 1966, the government set all commodity prices and controlled distribution systems; in September 1987, the Burmese people were told that they could buy, sell, and store rice and other grains free of government restrictions. These liberalization measures have been most effective in the agricultural sector, although overall, the military still controls the lion's share of the economy. As of 2001, about 70% of the work force was employed in agriculture.

Although significant marketing is done at Bago (Pegu), Mandalay, Mawlamyine (Moulmein), Pathein (Bassein), Henzada, Akyab (Sittwe), and Dawei (Tavoy), Yangon (Rangoon) is Myanmar's most important business center. Myanmar's domestic economy is paralleled by a huge black market economy that co-exists with the official one; the underground economy may be twice as large as the legal economy. A factor in the decline of Myanmar's domestic production is dependence on border trade, which undermines Myanmar's manufacturing sector with cheap foreign consumer goods. Credit cards are not widely accepted.

Normal business hours are 9:30 am to 4:30 pm, Monday through Friday; small private shops keep longer hours than government offices and enterprises. Banks are usually open 10 am to 2 pm, Monday through Friday.

FOREIGN TRADE

It is estimated that from 1992 to 1995 the legal merchandise trade deficit (excluding military imports) grew from $412 million to $737 million. All financial estimates are suspect because of the exclusion of a large extralegal sector and substantial military imports, neither of which are included in official figures. The value of opiate exports alone may now be roughly comparable to all legal merchandise and service exports receipts. Border areas not under the control of the government also engage in unreported exports of timber, rice, jade, gems, minerals, and rare animals. Consumer goods, diesel fuel, and other products are smuggled in from Thailand, China, Malaysia, and India.

In 2004, Myanmar's primary export partners were: Thailand (38.9%), India (11.5%), China (5.9%), and Japan (5.2%). That year, the primary import partners were: China (29.8%), Singapore (20.8%), Thailand (19.3%), South Korea (5.2%), and Malaysia (4.8%).

BALANCE OF PAYMENTS

In 2005, the government estimated the value of exports to be $2.514 billion, and that of imports to be $2.183 billion. However, the official figures are grossly underestimated due to the value of products smuggled in and out of neighboring countries. In 2005, the current-account balance was estimated at -$215 million. That year, total external debt was estimated at $6.967 billion.

BANKING AND SECURITIES

Effective 23 February 1963, all 24 commercial banks in Myanmar—10 foreign and 14 indigenously owned—were nationalized and amalgamated into 4 state banks. In addition to the Central Bank of Myanmar, Union of Burma Bank, which serves as a central bank, the other state banks were the State Agricultural Bank, the State Commercial Bank, and the Industrial Bank. After subsequent reorganizations of the banking system, these became the Myanma Investment and Commercial Bank, Myanma Economic Bank, and the Myanma Foreign Trade Bank. Agricultural credit is provided by a separate Myanmar Agricultural and Rural Development Bank. Public savings increased sharply in 1977 after the banks raised interest rates. Efforts to attract the considerable liquidity in the hands of the public into the banking sector, and thence into investment, have not had much success.

By the end of 1994, licenses to open representative offices had been issued to 19 banks from overseas—six from Thailand, five from Singapore, three from Malaysia, and one each from France, Indonesia, Cambodia, Hong Kong, and Bangladesh. Eventually, 54 foreign banks had offices in Myanmar, but 2000–02, 21 of them left the country, and nine more downgraded their operations there. As of the end of 2002, 27 foreign banks have representative offices in Burma, but none from the United States. Since

1994 four private domestic banks have been permitted to conduct foreign exchange transactions for the first time. Various types of foreign exchange licenses have been issued to the private sector by the Central Bank. It issued seven authorized dealer licenses, three money changer licenses, 396 acceptor and holder licenses, and 66 FEC changer licenses in August 1994. Despite the liberalization of its economy, the country still lacks a capital market. The International Monetary Fund reports that in 2001, currency and demand deposits—an aggregate commonly known as M1—were equal to $103.9 billion. In that same year, M2—an aggregate equal to M1 plus savings deposits, small time deposits, and money market mutual funds—was $170.7 billion. The discount rate, the interest rate at which the central bank lends to financial institutions in the short term, was 10%.

INSURANCE

All 78 foreign insurance companies registered in Myanmar were nationalized on 1 March 1963. All forms of insurance, including life, fire, marine, automobile, workers' compensation, personal accident, and burglary, are handled by the Myanma Insurance Corp. Life insurance coverage is compulsory for government employees.

PUBLIC FINANCE

The government presents its budget in March for the 1 April–31 March fiscal year. The public sector budget typically shows an overall deficit because of economic mismanagement.

The US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) estimated that in 2005 Myanmar's central government took in revenues of approximately $523.5 million and had expenditures of $769.3 million. Revenues minus expenditures totaled approximately -$245.8 million. Total external debt was $6.967 billion.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) reported that in 2002, the most recent year for which it had data, central government revenues were k279,377 million and expenditures were k353,389

million. The value of revenues was us$42,501 million and expenditures us$53,760 million, based on a official exchange rate for 2002 of us$1 = k6.5734 as reported by the IMF. Government outlays by function were as follows: general public services, 23.4%; defense, 21.5%; economic affairs, 31.4%; housing and community amenities, 1.0%; health, 5.3%; recreation, culture, and religion, 0.7%; education, 14.6%; and social protection, 2.0%.

TAXATION

Residents pay a progressive individual income tax with a top rate of 30%. The corporate tax rate is 30% with a 10% capital gains tax (40% for nonresident companies). Indirect taxes include a commercial tax on prescribed services, ranging from 5–30%, and on goods, ranging from 5–200%. There are also social security taxes, customs duties, royalties on natural resources, stamp tax, and property tax. The ratio of tax revenues to GDP is very low, estimated at between 2.3–3.6%, of which it is also estimated that 87% goes to the military.

CUSTOMS AND DUTIES

Duties are primarily intended to raise revenue, although their financial importance is limited by the fact that the government itself—through its Myanmar Export-Import Corp.—is by far the country's predominant importer. Import licenses are required for shipment of almost anything into the country. The official exchange rate overvalues the domestic currency by 100 times. Until Myanmar joined ASEAN in July 1997, customs tariffs ranged from zero to 500%. In 1997, a new tariff schedule went into effect ranging from zero to 15% for most industrial inputs to a maximum of 40% for cars and luxury items. In spring 1998 a 10% service fee (reduced to 8% by September) was enacted on all border-trade exports.

FOREIGN INVESTMENT

Foreign investment in Myanmar was heavy before World War II, but in the postwar period, and particularly after independence, a government policy of economic nationalism (and later socialism) strongly discouraged private foreign investment. After the nationalization of industry in 1963–64, private foreign investment in Myanmar was eliminated entirely. In 1976, the government indicated a willingness to establish "mutually beneficial economic cooperation" with foreign enterprises having the technology that Myanmar needed. The scope of state capitalism was expanded when the Saw Maung regime legalized internal and external trade without giving up control of major industries.

Foreign investment in Myanmar has been permitted only since 1988 under the Union of Myanmar Foreign Investment Law, and the level and variety of investment is limited. Sectors eligible for foreign investment include manufacturing, oil and gas exploration and development, mining (except gold and precious stones), jewelry production, and agriculture. The Foreign Investment Commission (FIC) screens foreign investment proposals for export generation potential, technology transfer, and the size of the investment. Various investment incentives are provided, such as exemption from income tax, and relief or exemption from customs duties. Bureaucratic procedures and a antiquated and inadequate infrastructure hamper foreign and local investments alike. Foreign entities cannot own land in Myanmar. Foreign investors must also fear being criticized in the West for investing in a country with a long record of human rights violations. In 1996 a lawsuit was brought against Unocal for its predication in the joint venture building the natural gas pipeline with Thailand, and the forced labor and other human rights abuses connected with the construction. The Clinton administration pressured Unocal to sell its shares in the Myanmar Oil and Gas Company (MOGC). The French company Total had earlier been pressed to sell its share in MOGC to Unocal.

In 1997, Myanmar was admitted to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), a step that might have relieved some of the international pressure against doing business in the country; however, in May of that year, the US government enacted restriction against new investment in Myanmar by US companies or citizens.

As of 2001, foreign investment under the liberalized regime of 1988 totaled about $7.4 billion. Of that amount, investment from the United States totaled only $582 million, with the majority, 51.35%, coming from ASEAN countries, including $1.5 billion from Singapore, $1.2 billion from Thailand, $597 million from Malaysia, $240 million from Indonesia, and $147 million from the Philippines. The United Kingdom, however, was the second-largest source of approved investments, at $1.4 billion. Investments from France and Japan totaled $470 million and $233 million, respectively.

After the Asian financial crisis, however, foreign investment dropped off considerably. Of the total, only $1.17 billion (16.8%) represents approved investment value after 1996, $673.6 million or 57.59% from ASEAN countries. In 1996/97, annual foreign investment peaked at $2.6 billion and then fell to $29.5 million in 1997/98. The continuance of the declining trend was made starkly apparent in the first six months of 2002 when investment from ASEAN members fell to zero, compared to an already-low $32.28 million from these countries in the first six months of 2001. In 2003 the government introduced a measure that stopped the issue of import and export permits to Myanmar-based foreign companies, making the regime less attractive to foreign investors. Also in 2003, the US government banned the importation of goods from Myanmar to the United States, and banned the export from the United States to Myanmar of financial services. The US also seized the assets of some Burmese entities.

According to government figures, at the end of March 2004, the total stock of inward FDI in Myanmar amounted to $7.59 billion. However, this figure does not factor in subsequent disinvestment, or investment that was approved but didn't actually enter the country. In 2003–04, there was an estimated 4.6% year-on-year increase in the value of new FDI approvals ($91.17 million) over 2002–03, in five sectors. The new investments came from Canada, China, Hong Kong, South Korea, Thailand, and the United Kingdom. As of March 2004, the countries with the largest share of FDI stock in Myanmar were: Singapore, the United Kingdom, Thailand, Malaysia, the United States, France, Indonesia, the Netherlands, Japan, and South Korea (in that order).

ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

The major aim of Myanmar's government has been to rehabilitate, modernize, and diversify an economy that was extensively disrupted by World War II and that failed to develop from the 1940s through the 1960s. To this end, all foreign companies, all banks, the entire transport system, all foreign and much domestic trade, and all the main branches of industry were nationalized. Some nationalized industries initially showed declines in output, while others were hard pressed to hold their own. By 1974, the government had no choice but to modify some of its more rigidly Socialist economic policies. Economic development proceeded slowly under the four-year plan for 1974–78 and the 1978–82 development program, which was allocated 60% more funding than its predecessor and which achieved an annual growth rate exceeding 6%. The four-year plan for 1982–86, costing an estimated $5 billion, set an average annual growth target of 6.2%. The plan stressed infrastructural development, with particular emphasis on agriculture, construction, and energy production. The four-year plan for 1986–90 encouraged foreign investment. Since 1990, private investment has been encouraged as the government attempts to revitalize the economy.

In 2001, the government introduced its third five year short-term plan, with a targeted average growth rate of 6%. However, both continued reform and substantial foreign investment would be necessary to meet the goals of the plan. Such needed reforms include dismantling unproductive state-owned enterprises, establishing an independent state bank, making available private sector credit, controlling government spending, and adjusting the official exchange rate.

In February 2003, a major banking crisis affected the country's 20 private banks, closing them and disrupting the economy. As of yearend 2005, the largest private banks remained moribund, leaving the private sector with little formal access to credit. Burma's trade with China, Thailand, and India is increasing. Although Myanmar has relatively amicable relations with its neighbors, a better political situation and improved investment climate are needed to promote foreign investments, exports, and tourism.

SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT

Although considerable advances have been made in health services, Myanmar's goal of establishing a welfare state has been limited by lack of public funds. In 1956, the government inaugurated a social security program that compensates workers for wage losses arising from sickness, injury, and maternity leave, provides free medical care, and establishes survivors' benefits. The program is funded by contributions from employers, employees, and the government. As yet, Myanmar does not have unemployment insurance, but public employees are entitled to old age pensions.

Women have a high status in Myanmar's society and economic life. They may retain their maiden name after marriage, may obtain divorces without undue difficulty, and enjoy equal property and inheritance rights with men. Traditional views of women often prevent them from entering male dominated occupations, and they do not always receive equal pay for equal work. Domestic abuse is a problem, but there are no statistics to estimate how prevalent it is. Married women tend to live with extended families, which provides some protection from abuse.

Myanmar's military regime continues to systematically engage in human rights abuses. Prison conditions are poor and mistreatment of prisoners is widespread. Arrests are often made arbitrarily and many detainees are held incommunicado. Ethnic minorities face discrimination. Those of Muslim, Indian and Chinese descent, for example, are not free to travel domestically and are barred from certain university programs.

HEALTH

Until the 1980s and 1990s, few people in rural areas had the benefit of modern medicine. To correct this deficiency, the country's health services were reorganized by sending more doctors to rural areas and increasing the number of rural health centers. Doctors in private practice were inducted for two years of national service. The progress of the health services in the 1980s is reflected in the reduction of the physician/population ratio from 1 per 15,560 in 1960 to 1 per 3,578 by 1986. To staff the new hospitals and dispensaries, medical schools have been expanded, nurse and midwife training courses increased, an institute of paramedical science was established, and a new college of dentistry opened. As of 2004, there were an estimated 30 physicians, 27 nurses, 2 dentists, and 22 midwives per 100,000 people.

A team of nutritionists conducts research on the nation's diet and disseminates its findings and recommendations through the press, radio, and demonstrations in offices and factories. One result of these efforts has been that the average height and weight of Myanmar's populace have increased.

Smallpox and plague have been virtually eliminated as health hazards and programs are under way to eradicate malaria and tuberculosis. However, gastrointestinal diseases such as typhoid, dysentery, and cholera remain prevalent. One of the problems yet to be overcome is the lack of potable water for residents; in 2000, 68% of the population had access to safe drinking water and 46% had adequate sanitation. Another serious health problem is drug addiction, exacerbated by the easy availability and low cost of opium. Under a drug abuse control program financed by the United States and the UN, a new 300-bed hospital for addicts opened in 1982 at Thayetmyo, along the Irrawaddy in central Myanmar; smaller facilities have been established in about two dozen other towns.

The infant mortality rate dropped from 129.9 deaths per 1,000 live births in 1960 to about 63.56 in 2005, while average life expectancy rose to 60.70 years. It was estimated that 60% of the population had access to health services. Immunization was estimated to have saved 60,000 young children and averted 2.4 incidences of vaccine-preventable diseases. The immunization rates for children under one were as follows: tuberculosis, 83%; diphtheria, pertussis and tetanus, 77%; and polio, 77%. The level of measles immunization rose by more than 50% between 1988 and 1994. By 2000, 83% of children were immunized for DPT and 85% for measles.

The total fertility rate decreased from 5.1 in 1990 to 3 in 2000. The maternal mortality rate was 230 per 100,000 live births. It was estimated that 29% of children under the age of five were malnourished.

The HIV/AIDS prevalence was 1.20 per 100 adults in 2003. As of 2004, there were approximately 330,000 people living with HIV/AIDS in the country. There were an estimated 20,000 deaths from AIDS in 2003.

HOUSING

Prewar housing in Myanmar compared favorably with that in other Southeast Asian nations, but housing conditions have deteriorated. The housing requirement for Yangon has been estimated at about 10,000 units needed per year, but as of 2003 average construction rates were expected to meet only about 20% of the need. In 2000, about 68% of the population had access to improved water sources and 46% of the population had access to improved sanitation. Urban dwellings are overcrowded and often unsafe. The last available statistics indicate that over 50% of all housing units were built of wood and bamboo. The government has been working on projects to alleviate homelessness and the prevalence of squatter communities in many areas by building apartment-style structures to replace hut dwellings.

EDUCATION

The system of education initiated by the Ne Win government in 1964 equates learning with livelihood. At that time, the government announced its intention of opening at least one agrarian high school and one technical high school in each district. By 1967 there were six agricultural high schools, seven industrial trade schools, and one technical high school in the country, and the government had taken over about 880 private schools.

Education is free, although informal fees were increasingly imposed in the late 1990s. Primary education is compulsory for primary school, which covers a five-year course of study. This is followed by four years of middle school and two years of high school or technical school. Generally, Burmese is the language of instruction, and English is taught in the secondary schools; as of 1982, however, English became the medium of instruction in the universities.

In 2001, less than 2% of children between the ages of three and four were enrolled in some type of preschool program. Primary school enrollment in 2003 was estimated at about 84% of age-eligible students. The same year, secondary school enrollment was about 35% of age-eligible students. It is estimated that about 73.2% of all students complete their primary education. The student-to-teacher ratio for primary school was at about 33:1 in 2003; the ratio for secondary school was also about 33:1.

Postsecondary institutions include 18 teacher-training colleges, 6 agricultural institutes, 8 technical institutes, and 35 universities and colleges. All of them are state institutions. In 2001, about 12% of the tertiary age population were enrolled in some type of higher education program; 8% for men and 15% for women. The Mass Education Council has attempted to increase literacy through special programs. The adult literacy rate for 2004 was estimated at about 89.7%, with 93.7% for men and 86.2% for women. However, international observers question this figure, estimating that literacy rates are much lower since up to 40% of children in rural areas do not enroll in school and those who do drop out early.

As of 2003, public expenditure on education was estimated at 1.3% of GDP, or 18.1% of total government expenditures.

LIBRARIES AND MUSEUMS

The Myanmar National Library in Tamwe Township, founded in 1952, contains over 180,000 books. Other large libraries are the Arts and Science University Library in Mandalay, with 175,000 volumes, and the University of Yangon with 350,000 volumes. There are also several small college libraries, as well as state libraries and museums at Pathein (Bassein), Kyaukpyu, Mandalay, and Mawlamyine (Moulmein). The Myanmar Library Association was founded in 1990.

The National Museum of Art and Archaeology in Yangon was founded in 1952 and includes among its collection a replica of King Mindon's Mandalay Palace. The National Museum of Mandalay (1905) is housed in the Glass Palace and features historical relics of Burmese culture. Sometimes called the "land of golden pagodas," Myanmar also has thousands of Buddhist temples, many of which have been repaired and restored.

MEDIA

The director-general of posts and telegraphs controls the telephone, telegraph, radio, and postal communications systems. A satellite communications station that began operating in 1979 links Myanmar with more than 100 countries. In 2003, there were an estimated seven mainline telephones for every 1,000 people; about 102,000 people were on a waiting list for telephone service installation. The same year, there was approximately one mobile phone in use for every 1,000 people.

The government provides the only radio and television transmissions through Voice of Myanmar and TV–Myanmar (which broadcasts in color). As of 2004, there were 2 television stations and 1 AM and 1 FM radio stations. In 2003, there were an estimated 66 radios and 7 television sets for every 1,000 people. The same year, there were 5.6 personal computers for every 1,000 people and one of every 1,000 people had access to the Internet. There were two secure Internet servers in the country in 2004.

Chinese- and Indian-language newspapers are not allowed by the government, but two daily papers are still published in English. Leading newspapers in 1999 included Kyemon (1999 circulation, 100,000), Myanma Alin (400,000), and The New Light of Myanmar (14,000). There are some privately published magazines, but none has a high circulation or major influence.

The government professes to uphold freedom of the press, but there are no privately owned newspapers and the print media are government-controlled. In 1963, the government established its own press agency, the News Agency of Burma, with a monopoly on internal news distribution. As of 2002, the six daily papers (with language of publication and estimated circulation figures) were: Myanmar Alin (Burmese, 400,000), Loktha Pyithu Nayzin (Burmese and English, 184,000), Kyemon (Burmese, 100,000), Botahtuang (Burmese, 96,000), The Hanthawaddy (Burmese, 23,000), and The New Light of Myanmar (English, 14,000).

ORGANIZATIONS

Although Myanmar has most common types of educational, religious, cultural, and social organizations, those associated with capitalist economic activity have all but disappeared. The Rotary Clubs were forced by the government to disband in late 1975, as were numerous other Western-style organizations before them. There are many cooperative and producers' societies, as well as substantial numbers of consumer cooperatives.

Myanmar Medical Association promotes research and education on health issues and works to establish common policies and standards in healthcare.

The Lanzin Youth Movement, founded in 1984, is a coordinating body for all of the national youth organizations. Youth branches of the Union Solidarity and Development Association and the Myanmar Red Cross Society are extremely popular. The YMCA and YWCA are also major organizations. Several sports associations are active throughout the country. The Myanmar Maternal and Child Welfare Association, founded in 1991, is the major social welfare organization.

TOURISM, TRAVEL, AND RECREATION

Principal attractions include the palaces, Buddhist temples, and shrines in the two largest cities and in the ancient city of Pagan. River cruises are also popular. A visitor to Myanmar must have a passport and visa. Travelers are also encouraged to carry cash as credit cards are not highly accepted.

With the inception of military rule in 1988, tourism declined sharply but has risen again since 1990. The country encourages tourism, although it still remains undeveloped due to political unrest. In 2003, about 206,000 foreign visitors traveled to Myanmar There were 17,039 hotel rooms with 34,078 beds and a 20% occupancy rate. Visitors stayed an average of four nights.

The US Department of State estimated the daily cost of staying in Rangoon at $155 in 2004.

FAMOUS MYANMA

U Nu (Thakin Nu, 1907–95) was independent Myanmar's first premier (1948–62) and shares fame as founder of modern Myanmar with Aung San (1916–47), called the Father of the Burmese Revolution. Ne Win (Maung Shu Maung, 1911–2002) became premier in March 1962 and was president from 1974 to 1981. U Thant (1909–74) served as UN secretary-general from 1961 through 1971. Human rights activist Aung San Suu Kyi (b.1946) was awarded the 1990 Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought by the European Parliament, the 1990 Thorolf Rafto Human Rights Prize by Norway, and the 1991 Nobel Peace Prize.

Anawrahta, who founded the early Burmese kingdom of Pagan in 1044 and established Hinayana Buddhism as the official religion, is a great figure in Burmese history, as are the Toungoo warrior-king Bayinnaung (r.1551–81) and Alaungpaya (r.1752–60), who established the dynasty that ruled Myanmar until 1886. Great writers of the Burmese past include Bhikkhu Ratthasara, author of the poem Hatthipala Pyo, on the life of Gautama Buddha; Nawedegyi and Natshinnaung, poets of the Toungoo dynasties; and Binnyadala, who wrote of the long struggles of the Burmese king of Ava. In more recent times, U Ba Nyan and U Ba Zaw, well-known painters of the 1920s, introduced Western-style art into Myanmar; both died in the 1940s.

DEPENDENCIES

Myanmar has no territories or colonies.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Becka, Jan. Historical Dictionary of Myanmar. Metuchen, N.J.: Scarecrow, 1995.

Buddhism and Politics in Twentieth-Century Asia. New York: Pinter, 1999.

Burma Myanmar. 8th ed. Maspeth, NY: APA Publications, 2000.

Burma: Political Economy under Military Rule. New York: Palgrave, 2001.

Herbert, Patricia M. Burma. Santa Barbara, Calif.: Clio Press, 1991.

Leibo, Steven A. East and Southeast Asia, 2005. 38Thed. Harpers Ferry, W.Va.: Stryker-Post Publications, 2005.

Saito, Teruko and Lee Kin Kiong. Burmese Economy. Singapore: Institute of Southeast Asian Studies, 1999.

Seekins, Donald M. Historical Dictionary of Burma (Myanmar). Lanham, Md.: Scarecrow, 2006.

Silverstein, Josef. The Political Legacy of Aung San. Ithaca, N.Y.: Cornell University, 1993.

Skidmore, Monique (ed.). Burma at the Turn of the Twenty-first Century. Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press, 2005.

Win Pe. Dos and Don'ts in Myanmar. 1st ed. Bangkok, Thailand: Book Promotion and Service Ltd., 1996.