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Country Hopping: Myanmar
Official name: Union of Myanmar
Area: 676,577 sq km
Population: 44,497,000
Capital: Yangon
Currency: kyat
Language: Burmese
Major Cities: Mandalay, Mawlamyine, Bago, Bassein, Taunggyi, Sittwe, Manywa
Independence Day: 4 January 1948
Time Difference: GMT + 6.5
Major Exports: Teak, rice, pulses and beans, rubber, hardwood, base metals, gems, cement.
Myanmar is a country in Southeast Asia, bounded northwest by India and Bangladesh, northeast by China, southeast by Laos and Thailand, and southwest by the Bay of Bengal.
Physical features
A horseshoe-shaped mountain complex and the valley of the Irrawaddy River system are the dominant topographical features of Myanmar. The mountains on the northern margin rise to 19,295 feet at Hkakabo Razi, the highest peak in the country. Two other mountain systems are Arakan Yoma and Bilauktaung Range. The Shan Plateau, extending from China, has an average elevation of about 3,986 feet.
The Irrawaddy River, in central Myanmar, is 2,100 km long. It is formed by the confluence of the Mali Wang and Nmai Hka rivers just north of Myitkyina in Upper Myanmar. The Irrawaddy flows south through central Myanmar into the Bay of Bengal, forming several mouths near the capital city of Yangon.
Both the Arakan Coast in the northwest and the Tenasserim Coast in the southwest are rocky and fringed with islands. Myanmar has a number of excellent natural harbours.
Climate
Myanmar lies within the tropics. Temperatures from the cool to hot seasons range from 16° to 38°C in most areas of the country. Temperatures are generally lower in the mountainous regions. The country receives its rainfall between mid-May and October, the period of the southwest monsoon. Annual rainfall averages from 890 mms to 5,080 mms. Floods and landslides are common during rainy season.
Language
Most of the linguistic groups of Myanmar are monosyllabic and polytonal, like those of Tibet and China. Other than Burmese; Shan, Karen, and a variety of other languages are also spoken. English is spoken amongst the educated, and a fair number speak Chinese.
Religion
A vast majority of the people of Myanmar are Buddhists, most of whom adhere to the Theravada school of Buddhism. There are a significant number of Muslims, and also Christians (mostly Baptists), the latter particularly in the hill areas.
Government
Myanmar is a unitary republic. The highest organ of state power is the 489-member people’s assembly, the Pyithu Hluttaw. The people’s assembly elects the nation’s executive 30-member state council, which has a representative from each of Myanmar’s 14 states and divisions and is headed by a chair who acts as President. It is the sole legislature and elects a council of ministers, headed by a Prime Minister.
Following a military takeover in September 1988, a 19-member State Law and Order Restoration Council (SLORC) assumed overall control and martial law was proclaimed. From 1993 a national convention, including representatives of SLORC and opposition parties, met periodically to draft a new constitution.
Diet
Boiled rice combined with a little spicy meat or fish and some vegetables is the main meal of the natives. A hot noodle soup flavoured with coconut is popular for breakfast. A favourite sauce is ngapi, which is made from fermented fish or prawns and gives off a pungent odour. People also eat coconut and several varieties of bananas together with a wide variety of more exotic fruits, such as the mangosteen, the custard apple, and the durian. People drink weak, tepid green tea in small cups throughout the day.
Wildlife
The animals found here are Indian python, leopard, tiger, Asian black bear, Asian elephant, Malayan Tapir, king cobra, takin, red panda, wild boar and Eurasian otter.
The birds here include steppe eagle, peregrine falcon, European nuthatch, great bustard, Great spotted woodpecker, hoopoe and osprey.
History
3rd century AD: Arrival of Burmans from Tibet.
1057: First Burmese Empire established by King Anawrahta, who established capital inland at Pagan, and adopted Therav a da Buddhism.
1287: Mongols sacked Pagans.
1531: Founding of Toungoo dynasty, which survived till the mid-18th century.
1755: Nation reunited by Alaungpaya, with port of Rangoon as capital.
1824-26: First Anglo-Burmese war resulted in Arakan coastal strip, between Chittagong and Cape Negrais, being ceded to British India.
1852: Following defeat in second Anglo-Burmese war, Lower Burma, including Rangoon, was annexed by British.
1886: Upper Burma ceded to British after defeat of Thibaw in third Anglo-Burmese war; British united Burma, which was administered as a province of British India.
1886-96: Guerrilla warfare waged against British in northern Burma.
Early 20th century: Burma developed as major rice and teak exporter, drawing in traders from India and China.
1937: Became British crown colony in Commonwealth, with a degree of internal self-government.
1942: Invaded and occupied by Japan, who installed anti-British nationalist puppet government headed by Ba Maw.
1945: Liberated from Japanese control by British, assisted by nationalists Aung San and U Nu, formerly ministers in puppet government, who had formed the socialist Anti Fascist People’s Freedom League (AFPFL).
1947: Assassination of Aung San and six members of interim government by political opponents.
1948: Independence achieved from Britain as Burma, with U Nu as Prime Minister. Left Commonwealth. Quasi-federal state established.
1958-60: Administered by emergency government, formed by army chief of staff Gen Ne Win.
1962: Gen Ne Win reassumed power in left-wing army coup; he proceeded to abolish federal system and follow ‘Burmese Way to Socialism4, involving sweeping nationalization and international isolation, which crippled the economy.
1973-74: Adopted presidential-style ‘civilian4 constitution.
1975: Opposition National Democratic Front formed by regionally-based minority groups, who mounted guerrilla insurgencies.
1987: Student demonstrations in Rangoon as food shortages worsened.
1988: Government resigned after violent student demonstrations and workers’ riots. Gen Saw Maung seized power in military coup.
1989: Martial law declared; thousands arrested including advocates of democracy and human rights. Country and its capital renamed as Myanmar and Yangon.
1990: Landslide victory for opposition National League for Democracy (NLD) in general election ignored by military junta; NLD leaders U Nu and Suu Kyi, the daughter of Aung San, placed under house arrest.
1991: Martial law and human-rights abuses continued. Government crackdown on Karen ethnic rebels in southeast. Imprisoned Suu Kyi awarded Nobel Peace Prize.
1992: Saw Maung replaced by Than Shwe. Martial law lifted, but restrictions on political freedom remained.
1993: Cease-fire agreed with Kachin rebels in northeast.
1995: Karen rebels forced to flee to Thailand after further military crackdown. Suu Kyi released from house arrest.
1996: Karen rebels agreed to peace talks. Suu Kyi held first party congress since her release. Major demonstrations in support of Suu Kyi.
1997: Admission to ASEAN granted.
1998: Japan resumed flow of aid, which had been stopped in 1988. 300 members of the opposition NLD released from detention.
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