Burma: Government

Principal Government Officials

Chief of State: President Thein Sein
Head of Government: President Thein Sein

Burma remains an authoritarian country dominated by active or former members of the military. The nation is headed by a civilian president and two vice presidents. On paper, power is apportioned between executive, legislative, and judicial branches. The military remains an institution unto itself, and the head of the armed forces retains the right to invoke extraordinary powers including the ability to suspend civil liberties and abrogate parliamentary authority.

The SPDC changed the name of the country to "Myanmar" in 1989, but some members of the democratic opposition and other political activists do not recognize the name change and continue to use the name "Burma." Out of support for the democratic opposition, and its victory in the 1990 election, the U.S. Government likewise uses "Burma."

Burma consists of 14 states and regions. Administrative control is exercised by the central government through a system of subordinate executive bodies headed by chief ministers. It is unclear how the country's new civilian regional power structures will share responsibilities with regional military commanders.

In November 2005, the ruling regime unexpectedly relocated the capital city from Rangoon to Nay Pyi Taw, located in central Burma approximately 200 miles north of Rangoon, further isolating the government from the public and international community. Most government workers and ministries moved to Nay Pyi Taw over the following 6 months, and rapid development of the new capital continues. Foreign diplomatic missions are still located in Rangoon and no country has yet announced plans to move its embassy to Nay Pyi Taw.

The government has a contentious relationship with Burma's ethnic groups, many of which fought for greater autonomy or secession for their regions after the country's independence in 1948. At the time of independence, only Rangoon itself was under the control of national government authorities. Subsequent military campaigns brought more and more of the nation under central government control. Since 1989, the regime has entered into a series of ceasefire agreements with insurgent groups, though a few armed groups remain in active opposition. In 2009, the regime began pressuring ceasefire groups to join a Border Guard Force (BGF)--an integrated unit of Burma Army and ceasefire group soldiers, with Burma Army soldiers occupying the key positions; no major ceasefire group has agreed to these demands. In June 2009 the Burma Army and its affiliate, the Democratic Karen Buddhist Army, launched an attack against the Karen National Union. In August 2009 the Burma Army defeated the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army, an ethnic Kokang group, in an offensive in which thousands of people fled to China and the Burma Army destroyed a weapons and narcotics processing facility in the Kokang region. In the wake of the November 2010 elections, the Burma Army launched a series of attacks against armed ethnic groups in Karen and Shan States. In June 2011, fighting broke out between the Burmese Army and the Kachin Independence Army in northern Burma’s Kachin State with clashes continuing as of August 2011.

FOREIGN RELATIONS
During the Cold War, Burmese foreign policy was based on principles of neutrality, often tending toward xenophobia. Since 1988, however, Burma has expanded its regional ties. It now is a member of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC), and several other regional organizations and initiatives. Burma joined ASEAN in 1997, and has participated in that regional forum, hosting a number of seminars, conferences, and ministerial meetings. Burma also is a member of the World Trade Organization. Burma's lack of progress on human rights and democracy has frayed some international ties, and in July 2005, Burma passed up its scheduled 2006 ASEAN chairmanship.

Although Burmese-Thai relations are generally cooperative, they have been tainted by a long history of border conflicts and sporadic hostilities over narcotics trafficking and insurgents operating along the Burmese-Thai border. Nonetheless, official and unofficial economic ties remain strong. In addition to the approximately 150,000 Burmese refugees it hosts, the Thai Government issues temporary work permits to another one million Burmese who live outside the refugee camps in Thailand. Despite their often-contentious histories, Burma has grown closer to both China and India in recent years. China quickly is becoming Burma's most important partner, offering debt relief, economic development grants, and soft loans used for the construction of infrastructure and light industry. China also is purportedly Burma's major supplier of arms and munitions. Burma's commercial and military ties with India are growing as well. India is a primary destination for exports of Burmese beans and pulses. The military relationship between Burma and North Korea has come under increased scrutiny by the international community. The United States and others have urged Burma to be transparent in its relationship with North Korea to give the international community confidence Burma is not violating its international obligations, particularly with respect to implementation of UN Security Council Resolutions 1718 and 1874.

The UN has made several efforts to address international concerns over human rights in Burma. The UN Secretary General's first Special Envoy to Burma, Tan Sri Razali Ismail, resigned his position in December 2005 due to the regime's lack of cooperation. Subsequently, Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon named former UN Undersecretary General for Political Affairs Ibrahim Gambari as his Special Advisor for Burma. Special Advisor Gambari made eight trips to Burma. At the end of 2009, Special Advisor Gambari was named the Secretary General’s Special Envoy to Sudan. Acting Special Advisor to the Secretary General Vijay Nambiar traveled to Burma in November 2010 and again in May 2011. The UN Human Rights Council has a special procedure in place for Burma, and Tomas Ojea Quintana was appointed Special Rapporteur on the Situation of Human Rights in Myanmar in 2008. Burmese authorities have denied Quintana access to Burma since a March 2010 report in which he called on the United Nations to consider establishing a UN Commission of Inquiry for Burma.

In January 2007, the United States and the U.K. sponsored a UN Security Council resolution on Burma calling on the regime to cease attacks on ethnic minorities, engage in political dialogue, and allow for basic human rights, that both Russia and China vetoed. The UN Security Council adopted by consensus a Presidential Statement on October 11, 2007, deploring the September 2007 crackdown and calling for the release of all political prisoners and the creation of the necessary conditions for a genuine dialogue. The UN Security Council issued a press statement on the crackdown on November 14, 2007. In November 2007, UN Special Rapporteur on the Situation of Human Rights in Myanmar Paulo Sergio Pinheiro was allowed to visit the country for the first time since 2003. His report detailing the Burmese authorities' September crackdown on demonstrations by monks and democracy activists and the severe reprisals was released on December 11, 2007. Tomas Ojea Quintana replaced Pinheiro on May 1, 2008. On May 2, 2008, the Security Council issued a second Presidential Statement calling for the Burmese regime to conduct the referendum on its draft constitution in a free and fair manner. In the wake of Cyclone Nargis, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki Moon visited Burma in May 2008 and called on the regime to grant greater access for international aid to cyclone-affected areas of the country. On May 22, 2009, the Security Council released a press statement expressing concern over the trial of Aung San Suu Kyi and reiterating its call for dialogue. In July 2009 the UN Secretary General again visited Burma but was not permitted to meet with Aung San Suu Kyi. In a speech to the diplomatic community, he noted the regime’s “missed opportunity.” On August 13, 2009, the Security Council released another press statement expressing its serious concern over Aung San Suu Kyi's conviction and sentencing and the political impact of those events. UN Special Rapporteur Tomas Ojea Quintana reiterated concerns about the human rights situation in Burma after a February 2010 visit to the country. He subsequently recommended to the UN Human Rights Council that the UN should consider establishing a Commission of Inquiry into war crimes and crimes against humanity in Burma.

Most Western foreign aid diminished in the wake of the regime's suppression of the democracy movement in 1988. The UN Development Program's 2009 Human Development Report indicated that official development assistance totaled $242.8 million in 2007, roughly $4 per capita (compared with $68 per person in Laos and $46 per person in Cambodia). Burma receives grants of technical assistance (mostly from Asia), limited humanitarian aid and debt relief from Japan and China, and concessional loans from China and India. In the wake of Cyclone Nargis, the international community has provided more than $343 million to Burma in response to the UN appeal for humanitarian relief. The United States has provided nearly $85 million to date in assistance for Cyclone Nargis recovery efforts.

Burma became a member of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank in 1952, the International Financial Corporation (IFC) in 1956, the International Development Association (IDA) in 1962, and the Asian Development Bank (ADB) in 1973. Since July 1987, the World Bank has not made any loans to Burma. Since 1998 Burma has been in non-accrual status with the Bank. The IMF performs its mandated annual Article IV consultations, but there are no IMF assistance programs. Burma is involved in the ADB’s Program of Economic Cooperation in the Greater Mekong Sub-region. As such, it participates in regional meetings and workshops supported by the ADB, although it has not received loans or grants since 1986. Bilateral technical assistance ended in 1988. Burma has not serviced its ADB loans since January 1998. Burma's total foreign debt now stands at over $9 billion. The debt total to Japan alone is reportedly $4.7 billion. The United States maintains sanctions against Burma that prohibit U.S. support for lending and technical assistance by international financial institutions in Burma.

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