Burma, which was renamed by the junta in 1989 to "Myanmar", is situated in Southeast Asia between India, China and Thailand. Since the coup in 1962, a military regime has been ruling in Burma under different names and state models. In 1988, thousands of Burmese had to pay with their lives for demanding democracy and economic reforms. In 2007, monks and their supporters were shot and bludgeoned off the streets in another wave of protests against the junta. The following year, Burma featured in the headlines when Cyclone Nargis devastated the Irrawaddy Delta and took the lives of many tens of thousands. The world was shocked to see that in the aftermath of the cyclone the regime refused for several days foreign aid for the country.
With its new leader Thein Sein, a former general of the military regime, the Burmese government has initiated a series of political and economic reforms. One reform included allowing the NLD leader Aung San Suu Kyi to stand for the parliamentary by-election in April 2012. NLD party swept nearly all of the seats in the by-election, but a solid majority of Burma’s lower house still remains with the government party and the military. Despite the reforms, human rights abuses are still commonplace in Burma. While certain positive developments were reported in a number of fields, such as political engagement, media or foreign investments, the majority of Burma's people, especially the ethnic minorities, still face many challenges.
On the following pages you can find more information about selected topics.
last update of information in 4/2013
