thecalling

Burma is a South East Asian country, occupying 678,500 sq km with a population of 42,720,196.
It was conquered by the British after the Burma Wars which were fought over the period of 1826 to 1885. It became part of the Indian Empire.
When Japan began conquering South East Asia Burmese Nationalists offered to help the British fight the Japanese as long as they were promised independence after the war. The British refused, and in by 1942 Japan was occupying Burma.
The Americans, British and Chinese all tried to retake the country, and after finding that the Japanese were in fact not more liberal than the British, the Burmese started a resistance movement lead by General Aung San (Aung San Suu Kyi’s father). These Burmese guerillas’s helped the British and Americans liberate their country, so Burma was now entitled to their independence.
They did indeed gain this, but it was made tragic by the assassination of Aung San, just when Independence was assured.
In 1960 U Nu’s party gained a majority and he became the first elected president of Burma. He drastically improved Burma’s income, and so did the president who followed after him, U Maung. However in March 1962 the Burmese army, under General Ne Win arrested President U Maung, Premier U Nu, and most members of the cabinet, and declared they were a “Revolutionary Government” under Ne Win, and published a document called “The Burmese Way to Socialism”.
In 1988 Ne Win stepped down. In August of that year there were huge protests in Rangoon calling for Democracy. The military killed them in their thousands. A leader of the democracy supporters stepped up. This was Aung San Suu Kyi. (For more information see the page entitled Aung San Suu Kyi) She formed a political party to oppose the government and call for democracy.
Whatever government that has been in power since independence has had to deal with the ethnic minority groups, many of them armed. These groups include the Shan, Karen, Kachin, Karenni, Mon and Chin ethnicities along with many others. In total the ethnic minorities make up about 10% of the countries population. Many of them (notably the Karen) are armed and are fighting a guerrilla war against SLORC (State Peace and Development Council), campaigning for their own state. 140,000 people from these groups are currently living in refugee camps along the Thai border, fleeing their villages due to widespread rape, murder and persecution from SLORC.
In 1990 SLORC held elections. Aung San Suu Kyi’s party won with an immense majority. She was not, however allowed to take over the country. She remained under house arrest until 1995.
In this time SLORC changed Burma’s name to Myanmar, and the capital city Rangoon to Yangon. Aung San Suu Kyi and the NLD (National League for Democracy) did not acknowledge this change, which is why this site, and many others still refer to the country as Burma.
In 2003 Aung San Suu Kyi was rearrested after an attempt at taking her life from government supporting thugs. (See Aung San Suu Kyi’s page)
In 2004 SLORC (currently calling themselves SPDC – State Peace and Development Council) launched a ‘National Convention’ to draft their proposed ‘Road Map to Democracy’. The entire convention turned out to be a sham, with Aung San Suu Kyi unable to participate due to her current house arrest. The rest of her party (the NLD – National League for Democracy) were also banned from participating.
Burma is still in a political checkmate, with the democracy supporters refusing to give up, and the government refusing to relinquish the grasp they hold so firmly on Burma. In the mean while thousands of people remain prisoners, hundreds are killed and millions are denied their basic human rights. No one knows how long this will be allowed to keep happening, but it can’t be forever. And if people within Burma, outside Burma, and surrounding Burma are all rallying for the same cause, and making themselves heard loudly and clearly, then it is impossible for this to continue.

Piczo