Editing Myanmar (section)

=== Military rule (1962–2011) ===
On 2 March 1962, the military led by General [[Ne Win]] [[1962 Burmese coup d'état|took control of Burma through a coup d'état]], and the government had been under direct or indirect control by the military since then. Between 1962 and 1974, Myanmar was ruled by a [[Union Revolutionary Council|revolutionary council]] headed by the general. Almost all aspects of society (business, media, production) were [[nationalised]] or brought under government control under the [[Burmese Way to Socialism]],<ref name="thantmyintu">[[#Myint-U|Myint-U]]</ref> which combined Soviet-style nationalisation and [[Economic planning|central planning]].

A [[Constitution of Myanmar|new constitution]] of the [[Socialist Republic of the Union of Burma]] was adopted in 1974. Until 1988, the country was ruled as a [[one-party system]], with the general and other military officers resigning and ruling through the [[Burma Socialist Programme Party]] (BSPP).<ref name="christinafink">{{cite book |first=Christina |last=Fink |year=2001 |title=Living Silence: Burma under Military Rule |isbn=978-1-85649-926-2 |publisher=White Lotus |location=Bangkok |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/livingsilence00chri }}</ref> During this period, Myanmar became one of the world's most impoverished countries.<ref name="ruin">{{cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2007/sep/28/burma.uk |title=The Burma road to ruin |work=The Guardian |location=London |first=Mark |last=Tallentire |date=28 September 2007 |access-date=12 December 2016 |archive-date=4 March 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304081122/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2007/sep/28/burma.uk |url-status=live }}</ref> There were sporadic protests against military rule during the Ne Win years, and these were almost always violently suppressed. On 7 July 1962, the government broke up [[1962 Rangoon University protests|demonstrations at Rangoon University]], killing 15 students.<ref name="thantmyintu" /> In 1974, the military violently suppressed [[U Thant funeral crisis|anti-government protests]] at the funeral of U Thant. Student protests in 1975, 1976, and 1977 were quickly suppressed by overwhelming force.<ref name="christinafink" />

In 1988, unrest over economic mismanagement and political oppression by the government led to widespread pro-democracy demonstrations throughout the country known as the [[8888 Uprising]]. Security forces killed thousands of demonstrators, and General [[Saw Maung]] staged a coup d'état and formed the [[State Law and Order Restoration Council]] (SLORC). In 1989, SLORC declared martial law after widespread protests. The military government finalised plans for People's Assembly elections on 31 May 1989.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.ibiblio.org/obl/docs/pyithu_hluttaw_election_law.htm |title=Pyithu Hluttaw Election Law |access-date=11 July 2006 |date=31 May 1989 |work=State Law and Order Restoration Council |publisher=iBiblio.org |archive-date=16 September 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190916133423/http://www.ibiblio.org/obl/docs/pyithu_hluttaw_election_law.htm |url-status=live }}</ref> SLORC changed the country's official English name from the "Socialist Republic of the Union of Burma" to the "Union of Myanmar" on 18 June 1989 by enacting the adaptation of the expression law.

In May 1990, the government held free multiparty elections for the first time in almost 30 years, and the [[National League for Democracy]] (NLD), the party of Aung San Suu Kyi, won<ref name="burmese_vote_1990_05_29_nytimes_com">Erlanger, Steven:
[https://www.nytimes.com/1990/05/29/world/burmese-vote-rejects-army-rule-with-big-victory-for-opposition.html "Burmese Vote Rejects Army Rule With Big Victory for Opposition,"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210215085252/https://www.nytimes.com/1990/05/29/world/burmese-vote-rejects-army-rule-with-big-victory-for-opposition.html |date=15 February 2021 }}, 29 May 1990, ''The New York Times'', retrieved 1 March 2021</ref> [[1990 Myanmar general election|earning 392 out of a total 492 seats]] (i.e., 80% of the seats). However, the military junta refused to cede power<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.ibiblio.org/obl/docs/Elections-02.htm |title=1990 Multi-party Democracy General Elections |author=Han, Khin Kyaw |date=1 February 2003 |work=National League for Democracy |publisher=iBiblio.org |access-date=12 July 2006 |archive-date=10 October 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171010114240/http://www.ibiblio.org/obl/docs/Elections-02.htm |url-status=live }}</ref> and continued to rule the nation, first as SLORC and, from 1997, as the State Peace and Development Council (SPDC) until its dissolution in March 2011. General [[Than Shwe]] took over the Chairmanship – effectively the position of Myanmar's top ruler – from General Saw Maung in 1992 and held it until 2011.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Horn|first=Robert|date=11 April 2011|title=Is Burma's Strongman Really Retiring?|magazine=Time|url=http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,2064470,00.html|access-date=1 September 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110901055649/http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0%2C8599%2C2064470%2C00.html|archive-date=1 September 2011}}</ref>

On 23 June 1997, Myanmar was admitted into the Association of Southeast Asian Nations. On 27 March 2006, the military junta, which had moved the national capital from Yangon to a site near [[Pyinmana]] in November 2005, officially named the new capital [[Naypyidaw]], meaning "city of the kings".<ref>{{cite news |title=Burma's new capital stages parade |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/4848408.stm |publisher=BBC News |date=27 March 2006 |access-date=24 June 2006 |archive-date=3 December 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181203065423/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/4848408.stm |url-status=live }}</ref>

[[File:2007 Myanmar protests 7.jpg|thumb|Protesters in [[Yangon]] during the [[2007 Saffron Revolution]] with a banner that reads ''non-violence: national movement'' in [[Burmese language|Burmese]]. In the background is [[Shwedagon Pagoda]].]]

[[File:Cyclone Nargis -Myanmar-3May2008.jpg|thumb|[[Cyclone Nargis]] in southern Myanmar, May 2008]]
In August 2007, an increase in the price of fuel led to the [[Saffron Revolution]] led by Buddhist monks that were dealt with harshly by the government.<ref name=PetrolSaffronRevolution>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/6947251.stm|title=Burma leaders double fuel prices|publisher=BBC News|date=15 August 2007|access-date=20 November 2012|archive-date=30 May 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170530110116/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/6947251.stm|url-status=live}}<br />{{cite news|url=http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/asia/article2521951.ece|title=Military junta threatens monks in Burma|location=London|work=The Times|date=24 September 2007|access-date=27 April 2010|first1=Jenny|last1=Booth|archive-date=10 October 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081010194752/http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/asia/article2521951.ece|url-status=dead}}<br />{{cite web|url=http://www.novinite.com/view_news.php?id=85644|title=100,000 Protestors Flood Streets of Rangoon in "Saffron Revolution"|access-date=15 February 2009|archive-date=17 October 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201017022614/https://www.novinite.com/view_news.php?id=85644|url-status=live}}<br />{{cite book|author=Fink, Christina|chapter=The Moment of the Monks: Burma, 2007|editor-link=Adam Roberts (scholar)|editor=Adam Roberts|editor2=Timothy Garton Ash|title=Civil Resistance and Power Politics: The Experience of Non-violent Action from Gandhi to the Present|publisher=Oxford University Press|year=2009|isbn=978-0-19-955201-6|pages=354–70|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=BxOQKrCe7UUC&q=Civil+resistance+and+power+politics|access-date=9 August 2023|archive-date=20 August 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230820072155/https://books.google.com/books?id=BxOQKrCe7UUC&q=Civil+resistance+and+power+politics|url-status=live}}<br />{{cite news|url=http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/4081D23F-F1A4-46AF-BA50-D47FA2B7A4AE.htm|title=UN envoy warns of Myanmar crisis|publisher=English.aljazeera.net|access-date=20 November 2012|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080228090420/http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/4081D23F-F1A4-46AF-BA50-D47FA2B7A4AE.htm|archive-date=28 February 2008}}</ref> The government cracked down on them on 26 September 2007, with reports of barricades at the [[Shwedagon Pagoda]] and monks killed. There were also rumours of disagreement within the Burmese armed forces, but none was confirmed. The military crackdown against unarmed [[protest]]ers was widely condemned as part of the [[international reactions to the Saffron Revolution]] and led to an increase in economic sanctions against the [[Politics of Myanmar|Burmese Government]].

In May 2008, [[Cyclone Nargis]] caused extensive damage in the densely populated rice-farming delta of the [[Irrawaddy Division]].<ref>{{cite news|last=Fountain |first=Henry |url=http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2008/05/06/asia/AS-GEN-Myanmar-Cyclone.php |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081011025523/http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2008/05/06/asia/AS-GEN-Myanmar-Cyclone.php |archive-date=11 October 2008 |title=Aid arrives in Myanmar as death toll passes 22,000, but worst-hit area still cut off&nbsp;– |work=International Herald Tribune |date=6 May 2008}}</ref> It was the worst natural disaster in Burmese history with reports of an estimated 200,000 people dead or missing, damages totalled to 10&nbsp;billion US dollars, and as many as 1 million were left homeless.<ref>{{cite news
|url=http://www.deseretnews.com/article/695277601/Official-UN-planes-land-in-Myanmar-with-aid-after-cyclone.html?pg=all
|title=Official: UN plane lands in Myanmar with aid after cyclone
|agency=Associated Press
|access-date=6 August 2015
|archive-date=6 September 2015
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150906080826/http://www.deseretnews.com/article/695277601/Official-UN-planes-land-in-Myanmar-with-aid-after-cyclone.html?pg=all
|url-status=dead
}}</ref> In the critical days following this disaster, Myanmar's [[isolationist]] government was accused of hindering United Nations recovery efforts.<ref>{{cite news |author1=Stevenson, Rachel |author2=Borger, Julian |author3=MacKinnon, Ian |name-list-style=amp |title=Burma snubs foreign aid workers |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2008/may/09/cyclonenargis.burma4 |work=The Guardian |location=London |date=9 May 2008 |access-date=12 December 2016 |archive-date=2 September 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130902085545/http://www.theguardian.com/world/2008/may/09/cyclonenargis.burma4 |url-status=live }}</ref> [[Humanitarian aid]] was requested, but concerns about foreign military or intelligence presence in the country delayed the entry of United States military planes delivering medicine, food, and other supplies.<ref>{{cite web|title=Burma: imperialists exploit natural disaster to promote regime change|url=http://www.cpgb-ml.org/index.php?art=410&secName=proletarian&subName=display|publisher=Proletarian Online|date=June 2008|access-date=13 November 2013|archive-date=13 November 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131113132830/http://www.cpgb-ml.org/index.php?art=410&secName=proletarian&subName=display|url-status=live}}</ref>

In early August 2009, [[2009 Kokang incident|a conflict broke out]] in Shan State in northern Myanmar. For several weeks, junta troops fought against ethnic minorities including the [[Kokang Chinese|Han Chinese]],<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna32596296 |title=Fighting forces up to 30,000 to flee Myanmar |work=NBC News |date=28 August 2009 |access-date=20 November 2012 |archive-date=23 September 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200923230219/http://www.nbcnews.com/id/32596296 |url-status=live }}</ref> [[Wa people|Wa]], and [[Jingpo people|Kachin]].<ref name="BangkokPost">{{cite news |date=27 August 2009 |title=More fighting feared as thousands flee Burma |work=[[Mail & Guardian]] |agency=[[Agence France-Presse]] |url=https://mg.co.za/article/2009-08-27-more-fighting-feared-as-thousands-flee-burma |access-date=28 August 2009 |archive-date=3 March 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170303122522/https://mg.co.za/article/2009-08-27-more-fighting-feared-as-thousands-flee-burma |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="NYTrefugees">{{cite news |work=The New York Times |last=Fuller |first=Thomas |date=28 August 2009 |access-date=28 August 2009 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/29/world/asia/29myanmar.html |title=Refugees Flee to China as Fighting Breaks Out in Myanmar |archive-date=13 February 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120213153527/http://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/29/world/asia/29myanmar.html |url-status=live }}</ref> During 8–12 August, the first days of the conflict, as many as 10,000 Burmese civilians fled to Yunnan in neighbouring China.<ref name="BangkokPost" /><ref name="NYTrefugees" /><ref>{{cite news |publisher=BBC News |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/8223430.stm |title=Thousands Flee Burma Violence |date=26 August 2009 |access-date=28 August 2009 |archive-date=29 August 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090829215715/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/8223430.stm |url-status=live }}</ref>