Politics of Myanmar

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Myanmar
This article is part of the series: Politics and government of Myanmar

State Peace and Development Council Chairman: Than Shwe Prime Minister Soe Win Political parties NUP Elections Human rights Opposition National Coalition Government National League for Democracy Aung San Suu Kyi Shan Nationalities League for Democracy States and Divisions Foreign relations Naming issues
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Politics of Myanmar (Burma) takes place in a framework of an authoritarian dictatorial republic which is controlled by the military (Tatmadaw) in the form of the State Peace and Development Council (SPDC). A parliamentary government was elected in 1990, but was not convened.

1 Political conditions
2 Executive branch
3 Legislative branch
4 Judicial system
5 Administrative divisions
6 International organization participation
7 References
8 Sources

[edit] Political conditions

Historically, Burma was a monarchy ruled by various dynasties prior to the 1800s. The British colonised Burma in the late 1800s, and it was under the juridstiction of British Raj until 1937. On January 4, 1948, Burma achieved independence from Britain, and became democracy based on the parliamentary system. However, in 1962, a coup d'état took place, and Burma, under the Burmese Way to Socialism and its leader Ne Win, attempted to convert itself into some sort of a socialist-type government. Myanmar has been under military rule since 1962. The current Head of State is Senior General Than Shwe who holds the title of "Chairman of the State Peace and Development Council." His appointed prime minister was Khin Nyunt until 19 October 2004, when he was replaced by Gen. Soe Win. Almost all cabinet offices are held by military officers.

US and European government sanctions against the military government, combined with consumer boycotts and shareholder pressure organized by Free Burma activists, have succeeded in forcing most western corporations to withdraw from Burma. However, some western oil companies remain due to loopholes in the sanctions and Asian businesses continue to invest in Burma, particularly in natural resource extraction. For example, the French oil company Total S.A. and the American oil company Chevron continue to operate the Yadana natural gas pipeline from Burma to Thailand. Total (formerly TotalFinaElf) is the subject of a lawsuit in French and Belgian courts for alleged connections to human rights abuses along the gas pipeline. Before it was acquired by Chevron, Unocal settled a similar lawsuit for a reported multi-million dollar amount. ^[1]

The United States clothing and shoe industry stopped sourcing from Burma after the U.S. government banned all imports from Burma as part of the "Burmese Freedom and Democracy Act" of 2003. US-led sanctions have been criticized for their adverse effects mainly on the civilian population. However, Burmese democracy movement leader Aung San Suu Kyi has repeatedly credited sanctions for putting pressure on the ruling military regime. ^[2]^[3]

The regime is accused of having an appalling human rights record and the human rights situation in the country is a subject of concern for a large number of international organizations.^[4] There is no independent judiciary in Myanmar and political opposition to the military government is not tolerated. Internet access is highly restricted.^[5] The state uses software-based filtering from US company Fortinet to limit the materials citizens can access on-line, including free email services, free web hosting and most political opposition and pro-democracy pages.^[6]

In 1988, protests against economic mismanagement and political oppression were violently repressed; on August 8 of that year, the military opened fire on demonstrators in what has come to be known as the 8888 Uprising. Nonetheless, the 1988 protests paved way for the 1990 elections; these were however invalidated by the military. Aung San Suu Kyi, whose opposition party won 83% of parliamentary seats in a 1990 national election, but who was prevented from becoming prime minister by the military, has earned international praise as an activist for the return of democratic rule to Myanmar. She won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1991. She has been repeatedly placed under house arrest, although in recent years the regime has been willing to enter into negotiations with her and her party, the National League for Democracy. She was placed under house arrest on May 31, 2003, following an attack on her convoy in northern Myanmar. Her house arrest was extended for yet another year in late November of 2005. Despite a direct appeal by Kofi Annan to Than Shwe and pressure from ASEAN, the Burmese government extended Aung San Suu Kyi's house arrest another year on 27 May 2006.^[7]

The junta faces increasing international isolation. Burma's situation was referred to the UN Security Council for the first time in December 2005 for an informal consultation. ASEAN has also stated its frustration with Burma's government. However, China and Russia continue to support the junta.

[edit] Executive branch

Main office holders
Office	Name	Party	Since
Chairman of the State Peace and Development Council	Than Shwe		April 23, 1992
Prime Minister	Soe Win		October 19, 2004

The Chairman of the State Peace and Development Council is both the chief of state and de facto head of government. The council oversees the cabinet, presided by the prime minister.

[edit] Legislative branch

A unicameral People's Assembly (Pyithu Hluttaw), in which 492 seats are elected by popular vote in four-year terms, has never convened. The last elections were held May 27, 1990.

**1990 People's Assembly election results**
Party	Votes	Seats	%
Party	Votes	Seats	Pop.	Seats
National League for Democracy (NLD)	7,943,622	392	58.7	79.7
Shan Nationalities League for Democracy (SNLD)	222,821	23	1.7	4.7
Minor parties and independents	1,606,858	12	12.1	2.4
Arakan League for Democracy (ALD)	160,783	11	1.2	2.2
National Unity Party (NUP)	2,805,559	10	2.1	2.0
Mon National Democratic Front (MNDF)	138,572	5	1.0	1.0
National Democratic Party for Human Rights	128,129	4	1.0	0.8
Chin National League for Democracy	51,187	3	0.4	0.1
Kachin State National Congress for Democracy	13,994	3	0.1	0.1
Party for National Democracy	72,672	3	0.5	0.1
Union Pa-O National Organisation	35,389	3	0.3	0.1
Democratic Organisation for Kayah National Unity	16,553	2	0.1	-
Kayah State Nationalities League for Democracy	11,664	2	0.1	-
Naga Hills Regional Progressive Party	10,612	2	0.1	-
Ta-ang (Palaung) National League for Democracy	16,553	2	0.1	-
Zomi National Congress (ZNC)	18,638	2	0.1	-
Total valid votes (87.7% of total votes cast)	13,253,606	492	100.0
Invalid votes	1,858,918
Valid votes (72.6% turnout)	15,112,524
Eligible voters	20,818,313
Source: Adam Carr with spelling corrections

[edit] Judicial system

Myanmar's judicial system is limited. British-era laws and legal systems remain much intact, but there is no guarantee of a fair public trial. The judiciary is not independent of the executive branch. Myanmar does not accept compulsory International Court of Justice jurisdiction.

[edit] Administrative divisions

Myanmar is divided into 7 divisions and 7 states. States and divisions are classified by ethnic composition. The 7 divisions (taing) are Ayeyarwady Division, Bago Division, Magway Division, Mandalay Division, Sagaing Division, Tanintharyi Division and Yangon Division. The 7 states (pyi-nè) are Chin State, Kachin State, Kayin State, Kayah State, Mon State, Rakhine State and Shan State.

[edit] International organization participation

AsDB, ASEAN, CCC, CP, ESCAP, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IMF, IMO, Intelsat (nonsignatory user), Interpol, IOC, ITU, NAM, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WHO, WMO, WToO, WTrO