The executive branch must carry out the rules and regulations as established by the legislative branch. The judicial branch of Burma remains heavily influenced by the British colonial-era laws and systems. The judicial system here does not, however, guarantee the citizens to a public trial and it is not an independent branch of government.
Burma does not agree to being held under International Court of Justice jurisdiction. The flag of Myanmar. Amber Pariona August 1 in Politics. Iroquois Great Law of Peace. United States-Iran Conflict. The War In Afghanistan. The Crisis In Venezuela. The Conflict In Ethiopia. Introduced by the socialist government of strongman Ne Win, it was mostly red with a dark blue canton in the upper left hand corner.
Inside the blue canton were 14 stars, encircling a gear and a rice plant. The star flag was hung upside down during the Uprising of by the protesters as a sign against the military government. Adopted , it is one of the few anthems rooted in indigenous traditions. The beginning part is a traditional Burmese anthem. Later it changes into a Western-style orchestrated work. National symbols of Burma-Myanmar have included: 1 the chinthe mythical lion, favored by military regime and put on Myanmar banknotes and coins after ; 2 the peacock one of the national animals of Burma, is strongly associated with the Konbaung monarchy and the anti-colonial nationalist movements; 3 white elephant, another symbol associated with defunct Burmese monarchy.
The white elephant prized in Theravada Buddhist and also revered in Thailand. Another important mythical animal is the Pyinsarupa , a figure made of parts of five animals: the antlers of the deer, the tusks and trunk of an elephant, the mane of a lion, the body of a naga protective cobra and the tail of a fish.
It weighed approximately 1 ton, was approximately 14 feet in height and was 15 feet wide and five feet long.
The British named the country Burma in honor of the Burmans, the dominant ethnic group. Myanmar was the pre-colonial name of Burma. And Yangon is local name of the capital of the same way Wein is the local name of Vienna. Yangon means. Despite the fact that Myanmar is a Burmese word, Western nations, pro-democracy groups, human rights groups and Aung San Suu Kyi prefer the name Burma. Using the name Myanmar favors the government.
Using Burma favors the opposition. Country name: 1 conventional long form: Union of Burma; 2 conventional short form: Burma; 3 local long form: Pyidaungzu Myanma Naingngandaw translated by the US Government as Union of Myanma and by the Burmese as Union of Myanmar ; 4 local short form: Myanma Naingngandaw; 5 former: Socialist Republic of the Union of Burma note: since the military authorities in Burma, and the current parliamentary government, have promoted the name Myanmar as a conventional name for their state; the US Government has not adopted the name, which is a derivative of the Burmese short-form name Myanma Naingngandaw [Source: CIA World Factbook].
In the law changing Burma's name, the nationality--Burmese--also was changed to Myanmar. The word for Burma and Burmese in the Burmese language are both pronounced Myanmar. The names of states, towns and other geographical sites are to be written in English according to the Burmese pronunciation.
Rangoon, for example, is to be written as Yangon, which is the Burmese pronunciation of the capital. The latest change in the country's name, government officials say, is to better reflect Burma's ethnic diversity. The term Burma connotes Burman--the dominant ethnic group in the country--to the exclusion of ethnic minorities.
The country achieved independence in and took the English-language name used by its former rulers, Burma. But it was formally known in Burmese, the national language, as "myanma naing ngan" or more colloquially as "bama pyi" or "country of Burma.
Myanmar is seen as more formal or literary and Burma, more vernacular. The first written reference to Myanmar, a term meaning fast and strong people, appears on an inscription in , although the nation wasn't unified until the British annexed the area to their Indian empire in the 19th century. The British "imperial tongue" stumbled over Myanmar and adopted Burma, reportedly similar to the name Birmania given to the country by Portuguese traders.
At independence in , the country's international name remained Burma, although in Burmese, the mother tongue of 68 percent of the population, it was known formally as "Myanma Naingngan" and more colloquially as "Bama pyi. In its propaganda, the government argued that Myanmar was a more inclusive term that embraced the country's plus ethnic communities, not just the majority Burmese. Its policy nonetheless "Burmanized" many place names, angering minority groups.
But dissidents, human rights organizations and such countries as the United States, Britain, Canada and Australia insisted on using Burma, arguing that no elected legislature had sanctioned the change. I once wrote an article for Lelyveld's paper about the brilliant musical life of the country its citizens call Suomi, but that might have puzzled readers, so I called it Finland. All this incessant, restless change makes language harder to understand.
The message: We don't believe your rule is legitimate. Over the years, that tug of words became highly politicized. And just as the world eventually accepted Zimbabwe for Rhodesia and Burkina Faso for Upper Volta, Myanmar will probably gain the upper hand despite the blank stares the word draws from some outsiders. But her insistence on using Burma has also spurred some ordinary Burmese to follow suit. In the summer of , while Suu Kyi was in Europe, the Myanmar government criticized her preference for Burma.
The fact he used the "M" word at all was warmly received in the capital, Naypyidaw, with Myanmar presidential advisor Ko Ko Hlaing terming its use "very positive" and an "acknowledgment of Myanmar's government. One reason Burma remains popular is a practical one. But as a country, it's Myanmar. Amid all the hand-wringing, some question the whole debate. I'm 50 and I'm used to Burma. My son is 20, born during the dictatorship, and he only knows Myanmar.
It's really no problem either way. President Barack Obama used that name during his historic visit, but he also called Burma what its government and many other people have been calling it for years: Myanmar.
Our view is that is something we can continue to discuss. But he used both during his six-hour trip — "Myanmar" during morning talks with Thein Sein, "Burma" afterward while visiting with opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi.
The government said she should use the proper name, "Republic of the Union of Myanmar," as stated in the constitution. But Suu Kyi has said "it's for each individual to make his or her own choice as to which he or she uses. The terms of the road map were defined by the military regime.
It called for drafting a constitution and placing it before a referendum. One his motives, one diplomat told the New York Times, "Khin Nyunt and those around him may have decided that it is time for Burma to re-enter the world. Not because they have to.
Perhaps just because it is embarrassing for the generals to be such pariahs in the world. Diplomats have noted that Myanmar is making life more difficult for United Nations agencies in Yangon, as well as for non-governmental organizations Veteran Myanmar politician Win Naing said the junta is obsessed with its pursuit of the road map, which Western governments and the U. Stage one -- drawing up the outline of the charter -- ended in September after a National Convention that first met 14 years ago, but which hit trouble when Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy NLD refused to attend while she was under house arrest.
A drafting commission of 54 people handpicked by the military has now been appointed and will hold their first meeting on Dec. There has been no indication of how long they will take to complete their work. Under the outlined charter, the head of the army will be the most powerful person in the country, with the ability to appoint key cabinet positions and suspend the constitution in the event of an emergency that he defines.
Than Shwe described his government, which emerged in the early s from the wreckage of late dictator Ne Win's rule, as a "transitive government of historical necessity which is undertaking a state transformation. Myanmar was without a constitution for two decades after The SLORC called a constitutional convention in , but it was suspended in when the National League for Democracy boycotted it, calling it undemocratic.
It was held intermittently after that. The military government's excuse for not holding elections through much of the s and s was the drafting of constitution, which it said needed the approval of all ethnic groups to pass, a near impossible task, especially considering meeting were rarely conducted. In , Lt. Col Hla Mon said that free election would be held in "two or three years" once the draft of constitution was finished.
He said that 60 percent of the constitution had been discussed and working on it was continuing. Two months of closed door discussions with 1, delegates were held. Most of the delegates were hand picked by the government. They included workers, businessmen and government employees. About 40 percent of them represented minorities.
The constitution convention was stopped in February and reopened in December It would rather be in accordance with democratic norms if the responsibilities of the ward and village tract elections were transferred from the GAD to an independent election body, and the mandate for and management of ward and village tract administrators were transferred to administrative bodies under civilian control.
Regarding the elections, there are also problems concerning inclusivity, especially for women and young people. In order for a culture of democracy to take root at the local level, young people must be encouraged to participate.
Voting is also still based on heads of households rather than all adults residing in each household. While this in itself is exclusionary, the prevalence of male heads of households means that there are major problems regarding the participation of women in this process.
This law is also significant for the aspirations of ethnic minorities. Of course, change must come as part of broader reforms of the GAD, which should move towards the decentralising of administration, including elections of local officials, to help devolve power to ethnic groups that have been striving for autonomy and self-determination for decades. Yet there is hope and optimism. While the military continues to hold power and assert its dominance over the administration structures that affect the daily lives of the people in Myanmar, these civil society activities can be supported by the government and members of parliament to push forward meaningful reforms that lead to a more genuine and inclusive federal democracy.
It is vital, in this time of fragile democracy in Myanmar, that the transition is not merely an elite-driven process and that communities on the ground can participate and feel a sense of ownership, which will ultimately strengthen democracy. For this, it is essential that the GAD be released from the hands of military control.
Further, even if the Ward or Village Tract Administration Law is amended to be more democratic, it does not necessarily decentralise the administrative structure. Reform of the GAD and the Ward or Village Tract Administration Law must be part of a broader process that establishes autonomy for different ethnic groups and also facilitates democracy taking root at the local level through an inclusionary and participatory process to elect officials who are accountable not to the military-dominated centre, but to the people on the ground.
Within the current legislative framework, the dominance of the military within parliament is another roadblock to reform. During the process of the third amendment of the Ward or Village Tract Administration Law in , pushback by the military and conservative forces within the bureaucracy against certain amendments prevented more substantive progress. There is an overall need for comprehensive sub-national administration reform.
Currently, decentralisation and sub-national administration changes have proceeded in an ad hoc and piecemeal manner without a broad and comprehensive framework for sub-national administration based on democratic norms and set within a transparent, accountable and inclusive policy, guided by a vision of a federal democratic union of Myanmar. For substantive change to occur, a process of constitutional reform must begin. There are important further issues related to the governance of Myanmar that relate to the aspirations of different ethnic groups and the peace process.
The Ward or Village Tract Administration Law is just one piece of a centralised system of governance and administration. In conclusion, further amendment of the Ward or Village Tract Administration Law is crucial in order to create a vital link between communities and the state. But ultimately, the amendment of the law must be part of broader reforms of the administration of the country.
A key to this is ending military authority over the GAD, which entrenches its position as the most powerful institution in Myanmar.
Reform of the GAD and wider sub-national administration, including the Ward or Village Tract Administration Law, can help create the institutional structure and process through which citizens can exercise their democratic rights, and develop democracy, active citizenship and participatory local governance.
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