Burma History 

PRIOR TO 1886

• Burma* as we know it did not exist; the territory was home to various independent nations.

BRITISH CONQUEST 

• 1886 – Britain annexes the Burman Kingdom (including Arakan and Mon states).
• Karenni (Kayah) states are recognised as sovereign states.
• The Shan States become a British protectorate – the Federated Shan States.
• The Chin & Kachin Hills and the Salween District (Karen State) are ruled indirectly by the British as Frontier Areas.

FIGHTING FOR INDEPENDENCE

The ethnic nationalities in Burma, such as the Arakan, Chin, Kachin, Karen, Karenni, Mon and Shan have their own separate homelands and military and political organisations. There are also minority ethnic groups in each of the seven ethnic states mentioned above.

• 1930s – The campaign for Burman independence is born.
• 1940s – Burman nationalists are trained by Japan with an understanding that the Japanese will help Burma gain independence from the British.
• 1942 – Japan invades and occupies Burma.
• Chin, Kachin, Karen and Shans remain loyal to the British and fight the Japanese and Burman Nationalists.
• 1944 – After it becomes clear that Japan has no interest in Burma’s independence, Burman nationalists begin to fight with Britain and its Allies.
• Japan is defeated and forced out of Burma.

INDEPENDENCE 

• 1947 – Bogyoke Aung San, Burma’s ethnic leaders and the British sign the Panglong Agreement to form the Union of Burma.
• 1948 – Burma gains independence from Britain and becomes the Union of Burma with U Nu as Prime Minister.
• 1960 – The Federal movement to legally amend the union constitution begins to emerge.
• 1949 – Civil war breaks out in Arakan, Karen, Karenni and Mon states.

On 12 February 1947, Burma’s most famous revolutionary, Bogyoke Aung Sang – father of Aung San Suu Kyi – together with Burma’s various ethnic leaders signed the the Panglong Agreement, in which they agreed to join their territories together to form the Union of Burma. This reflects the fact that Burma’s ethnic nationalities are co-owners of the nation with the Bama and that they have equal rights and responsibilities to re-shape and re-build the nation.

Six months before Burma gained full independence from Britain, Aung Sang was assassinated by a gang of paramilitaries of former prime minister U Saw. Though Burma did go on to gain independence, the process of reconciliation between Burma’s different ethnic leaders was put on hold.

Burma’s early years after independence were turbulent. The first and most serious threat to the nation was the uprising of the Communist Party of Burma, which threw Burma into civil war only eight months after it had gained independence.

During this period of instability, even the Burma army mutinied and U Nu’s government survived only because the Chin, Kachin and Karen Rifles remained staunchly loyal. The government at that time was an ethnic mix: the President was Shan, the Prime Minister was Bama, the Commander-in-Chief and the Air Force Chief were Karen. It was the first grand experiment to create an inclusive and just multi-ethnic nation.

MILITARY DICTATORSHIP

• 1962 – General Ne Win leads the military coup ‘to prevent the disintegration of the nation’ and takes power of Burma. Civil war breaks out in Kachin, Chin, & Shan States.
• 1988 – The People’s Power Movement for Democracy is born.
• 1990 – General Elections take place and Aung San Suu Kyi’s party, the National League for Democracy (NLD) wins 82% of seats, the United Nationalities League for Democracy (UNLD) wins 15% of seats, and the military-backed National Unity Party (NUP) wins just 2% of seats.

In 1962, General Ne Win – a former prime minister of Burma – seized power from the democratic government of U Nu. For 48 years, until 2010, Burma was ruled by a succession of military dictatorships which ruthlessly suppressed individual and political freedoms in the country and outlawed all forms of political expression.

The Burma Army of 1962 was modeled on the 1930’s fascist movement and its policies left no room for ethnic diversity or political dissent. The army modeled its style of ruling the country on previous Burmese kingdoms, such as that of King Anaw-ratha and King Bayin-naung, who saw the other ethnic states as territories ot be conquered.

When General Ne Win seized power in 1962, he re-wrote history. He began a process of Burmanisation which involved purging non-Bamas from public life. He suppressed all political dissent, making it impossible to redress wrongs in any way except through armed struggle. Those who did not take up arms had to live like second-class citizens, hide out in the jungle, become refugees or seek a new life abroad.

QUASI-CIVILIAN GOVERNMENT – A NEW BEGINNING?

• • 2008 – A referendum approves a new military-backed constitution.
  • 2010 – General elections are held. The main military-backed party, the Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP), claims resounding victory. Opposition groups allege widespread fraud and the election is widely condemned as a sham. The military says the election marks the transition from military rule to a civilian democracy. The retired general Thein Sein in the Myanmar Army served as the eighth President of Myanmar from 2011 to 2016.
  • 2011 – A week after the election, Aung San Suu Kyi – who had been prevented from taking part – is released from house arrest.
  • 2011 November- Pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi says she will stand for election to parliament, as her party rejoins the political process.
  • 2012April – NLD candidates sweep the board in parliamentary by-elections, with Aung San Suu Kyi elected.
  • 2013 May – President Thein Sein visits Washington. President Obama praises Myanmar’s political and economic progress but criticises violence against Rohingya Muslims.
  • 2014 May – The US extends some sanctions for another year, saying that despite the recent reforms, rights abuses and army influence on politics and the economy persist.
  • 2015 March – A draft ceasefire agreement is signed between the government and 16 rebel groups.
  • 2015 November – General elections are held. The National League for Democracy – led by Aung San Suu Kyi – wins enough seats in parliamentary elections to form a government.
  • 2016 March – Htin Kyaw sworn in as president, ushering in a new era as Aung San Suu Kyi’s democracy movement takes power after 50 years of military domination.
  • 2017 August – Rohingya militants attack police posts in Rakhine. The response by security forces prompted an exodus of Rohingya who sought refuge in Bangladesh estimated at 800,000.
  • 2018August – A UN report accuses Myanmar’s military leaders of carrying out genocide, war crimes, and crimes against humanity against Rohingya Muslims, calling for six generals to face trial at the International Criminal Court. It also accuses Aung San Suu Kyi of failing to prevent the violence. Myanmar rejects the findings.
  • 2020 March – The NLD introduced constitutional amendments with the goal of democratic reforms to the military-backed 2008 constitution. But, since the 2008 constitution provided the military with at least 25 percent of legislative seats, ensuring that they could block any legislation unfavourable to the military’s interests, the amendments were not passed.

        2021 MYANMAR COUP D’ETAT AND PROTESTS 

  • 2020 November – The parliamentary election was held. The NLD won a clear majority of seats in both legislative chambers, The military-aligned USDP the military rejected the results, alleging that the election had been tainted by fraud and irregularities, and called for the polls to be rerun. The electoral commission rejected these claims.
  • 2021 February the day that parliament was scheduled to meet for the first time since the election—the military seized power in a coup d’etat. President Win Myint, Aung San Suu Kyi, and other NLD members were detained. The exact motives behind the coup are unclear. Myanmar’s military says it will protect and abide by the constitution and act according to the law.
  • Following the 1 February 2021 military coup, a Committee Representing Pyidaungsu Hluttaw (the Myanmar legislature) was created by members of the National League for Democracy (NLD) who had been elected as lawmakers in the 2020 general election.
  • 2021 February 12, Tens of thousands of people in Yangon, teachers and some government workers joined the civil disobedience movement. Nationwide pro-democracy demonstrations continue and the civil disobedience movement spreads. Police opened fire to disperse protesters and killat least 160 people.
  • 2021 February 26, United Nations Ambassador Kyaw Moe Tun calls for the “strongest possible action” against the military regime and ends his UN speech with the three-fingered salute adopted by the protesters
  • 2021 March 10, the UN Security Council unanimously calls for a reversal of the military coup in Myanmar and condemns the military’s violence against peaceful protesters.
  • 2021 April 16, the Committee Representing Pyidaungsu Hluttaw, a group of elected lawmakers and members of parliament ousted in the 2021 Myanmar coup d’état announced they have formed a National Unity Government (NUG).
  • 2021 April 24, General Min Aung Hlaing travels to Jakarta for a summit with Southeast Asian leaders and signs a five-point planto end the violence and seek a solution to the political crisis.
  • 2021 May 05, the National Unity Government (NUG) officially announced the formation of a “People’s Defense Force (PDF)”.
  • 2021 May 24, Aung San Suu Kyi appears in court for the first timeand she faces a variety of charges, including the illegal import of walkie-talkies and breaking COVID-19 rules during the 2020 election.
  • 2021 July 26, The military cancels the result of the 2020 election, claiming millions of cases of fraud. International and domestic observers who watched the polls said there were no major irregularities.
  • 2021 August 21, Min Aung Hlaing appoints himself prime minister in the military’s State Administration Council. He says the military will hold elections by 2023
  • 2021 September 7, The NUG called for a nationwide uprising against the military junta and the launch of a “people’s defensive war”.
  • 2021 October 16, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) excluded Min Aung Hlaing from their summit, saying the military has failed to make progress on its five-point plan to end the crisis.
  • 2022 July 25, the military executes four anti-coup activists; Phyo Zaya Thaw, a former legislator from the NLD, and prominent democracy activist Kyaw Min Yu, Hla Myo Aung and Aung Thura Zaw in the first use of the death penalty in Myanmar in more than 30 years.
  • 2022 August 03, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov visits Myanmar amid deepening tiesbetween Moscow and the military regime.
  • 2022 September 07, Min Aung Hlaing meets Russian President Vladimir Putin on the sidelines of the Moscow-organised Eastern Economic Forum in Vladivostok, Russia.
  • 2022 September 16, at least 11 children were killed and more than a dozen injured after the military bombed a school in the restive Sagaing region.
  • The UN Security Council adopted its first resolution on Myanmar demanding an end to violence and the release of all political prisoners, including Aung San Suu Kyi. Of the council’s 15 members, 12 voted in favour. China and Russia, have supported Myanmar’s military leaders.
  • 2022 December 30, Aung San Suu Kyi’s trials conclude as she is handed a seven-year term for corruption. The 77-year-old Nobel Peace Prize laureate faces a total of 33 years in prison. The military provides no details on where she will be held.
  • 2023 January 27, the Military Junta introduced a restrictive new law on political parties will be barred from standing. Among the measures, parties and individuals deemed to have linked the People’s Defence Forces and NUG as “terrorists”.

  NO END IN SIGHT FOR THE CIVIL WAR

  Even though different militias and units under the PDF framework do not share the same commander or commanding structure, they share the common aspiration of driving the military out of power. 

  Although the resistance is still fragmented, it somewhat improved in 2022. A sizeable portion of the PDF is either recognized by or under the command of the NUG. Many of the PDF units cooperate or coordinate their positions with the EAOs. 

  Myanmar’s resistance forces still have a long way to go in terms of political negotiation and reconciliation among themselves. However, for the time being, fighting the Burmese military remains the highest priority for all players. 

  The power gap between the Burmese military and the resistance (the PDF and EAOs combined) remains significant, in terms of not only size but also weaponry and firepower. The resistance’s lack of income — which is funded by donations — is particularly striking in comparison to the military’s control over the state and its resources.

  In terms of territory, some estimate that the PDF and EAOs control 50 to 60% of the country’s territory. Accurate assessment of the control of territory is extremely difficult given the highly volatile battlefield situation and the constant contest for territory between the military and the resistance. And most observers would agree that the territories under PDF control are in less-populated rural and jungle regions, while the Burmese military still firmly holds the population centers, including cities and urban areas.

  With the continuation of bloody violence during the civil war, the PDF and EAOs are gaining ground in the peripheries of the country, and it is unlikely that the Burmese military can eradicate these groups despite their repeated campaigns against the insurgency. Similarly, despite operations by the PDF and EAOs, a decisive victory to defeat the Burmese military is also improbable in the foreseeable future

  * Note: Burma is today officially known as Myanmar. The democracy movement does not accept this name because it was changed by its military rulers without consultation with the people of Burma. The military claims Myanmar is more inclusive than Burma, which represents only the majority of the Bamar ethnicity. In reality, Burma and Myanmar are the same and are used interchangeably. Burma is a more colloquial form and Myanmar is more literary.

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  The maps on this page are reproduced with the permission of Mary P. Callahan and are taken from her book “Making Enemies: War and State Building in Burma”. Please see Amazon.co.uk for more details