Geography Reference
In-Depth Information
nated by ethnic Burmans but also were strongly anti-
Chinese and anti-Indian. The fact that Buddhism was at
the core of Burman life further alienated the non-Burman
minorities, especially those who were Christian.
Three of the prominent nationalists and independ-
ence seekers were Aung San, U Nu, and Ne Win. Aung
San was assassinated in 1947, U Nu became the first
prime minister in 1948, and Ne Win led a coup in 1962
placing the military in power. In 2010, the military was
still in power.
The anti-Western Japanese occupation in the 1940s
was welcomed by many Burmans, seduced by the Greater
East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere idea of “Asia for Asians.”
However, reality did not meet the vision, and the disillu-
sioned Burman nationalists worked toward independ-
ence. Burma was terribly damaged in World War II, with
most of its infrastructure destroyed.
After the war, independence came quickly (in 1948).
Minorities found themselves under a government relent-
less in its efforts to Burmanize them. A Karen nationalist
movement launched several insurrections. These con-
tinue into the 2000s. Burma was a democratic state be-
tween 1948 and 1962, but its failings were critical. A
failing economy , regional insurrections, social urban and
rural unrest, and rampant corruption led to Ne Win' s
overthrow of U Nu. Political and ethnic minority leaders
were arrested and opposition from university students
and Buddhist monks was ruthlessly suppressed. The
Westernized, often Anglo-Burman elite that had run the
country under colonial rule and through the 1950s fled,
along with large contingents of Indians and Chinese.
and elephants do not require roads. Consequently ,
their operations are less damaging than the mecha-
nized ones that call for forest clearance for road
development.
Burma is losing at least 2 million acres
(800,000 ha) of forest cover a year. Forests have
been virtually eliminated in coastal areas and in the
Ayerawaddy and Sittang valleys.
In 1974 the country was partitioned into administra-
tive divisions: seven minority states and seven Burman
divisions based on Western notions of nation and state.
The regions were not designed for any level of autonomy
but rather to facilitate further centralization. Delin-
eations are not consistent with ethnic or residential in-
tegrity; groups and villages are splintered and mixed up.
This aggravates the existing tensions among different
linguistic and religious groups. Moreover, as geographer
Curtis Thomson (1995) explains, traditional mapping
with bounded concepts “contrasts sharply with the
ephemerally bordered, hierarchically centered territories
of mainland Southeast Asia.” Boundary definitions re-
main an important focus of rebel movements.
In 1988, a series of protests and strikes called for an
end to military rule. In response, a new organization, the
State Law and Order Restoration Council (SLORC), took
control and killed thousands of protestors. SLORC de-
cided to hold elections in 1990. Surprisingly , Aung San
Suu Kyi, daughter of the nationalist hero Aung San, re-
turned from London to lead the National League for
Democracy (NLD). She was placed under house arrest in
1989. Nevertheless, the NLD won the election convinc-
ingly . However, SLORC declared the elections null and
void and arrested NLD members. Aung San Suu Kyi was
put under house arrest without a telephone, cell phone,
or computer. She was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in
1991. SLORC, now known as the State Peace and Devel-
opment Council (SPDC), held an election in November,
2010 which it won by fraudulent means. Anug San Suu
Kyi has since been released but forbidden from political
activity . How long she will stay free remains to be seen.
The Demise ofTeak
T To finance his campaign against U Nu, Ne Win' s
junta sold off much of Burma' s teak. An estimated
80 percent of the world' is teak is found within
Burma' s 900-mile (1,500 km) boundary with
Thailand. Thailand is hungry for logs since it
placed a moratorium on domestic logging in 1988.
Scores of logging and fishing concessions were sold
to Thai firms, along with the rights to gems, minerals,
and oil to foreign concerns. Leaders of the Karen
and other minorities have been and are still being
displaced by these concessions and associated road
building. Even so, they , too, are selling off teak to
finance their insurgencies against the Burmans.
However, tribal peoples use elephants for logging,
Rules of SLORC/SPDC
The rules of SLORC are known as the “People' s
Desire.” They are printed in daily newspapers and
on billboards and include such orders as: Oppose
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