Her en tidslinje over et hjemsøgt lands historie siden uafhængigheden – ualmindeligt omskiftelige tider i det fattige og bistandsudtørrede asiatiske land, der har været regeret af militæret i 50 år (siden 1962) – men nu måske nye tider.
BANGKOK, 29 March 2012 (IRIN): As millions went to the polls across Burma, IRIN took a brief look at a chronology of key events that have impacted this nation of around 50 million since the country gained its independence from Britain in 1948.
1948: Burma gains independence from British rule. Anti-Fascist People’s Freedom League (AFPFL) leader U Nu becomes the first prime minister.
1958-60: A military-led caretaker government is formed with General Ne Win as head.
1962: A government lead by U Nu, who won elections two years previously, is ousted in a military coup lead by General Ne Win. A single-party state with the Socialist Programme Party is established.
1974: A new constitution that transfers power from the military to a People’s Assembly, led by Ne Win and other former military leaders, is drawn up.
1982: The Burmese Citizenship Law is adopted, stating that anyone who arrived after 1823 is not considered a citizen. This law isolates ethnic groups such as the Kachin, Karen, Chin and Rohyinga as “associate citizens” denied the rights/relief offered to full citizens, including the right to serve in public office.
1988: Around 3.000 people are killed in anti-government protests. The State Law and Order Restoration Council (SLORC) is formed with the “mission to eliminate all forms of internal dissent or rebellion”
1988: Border trade between China and Burma officially opened.
1989: SLORC arrests thousands, including National League for Democracy (NLD) opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi, who is put under house arrest. The military changes the country’s name from Burma to “Myanmar”.
1990: The NLD wins 392 out of 429 seats in the first free general election held in 30 years, but the military government does not recognize the results.
1991: Aung San Suu Kyi, still under house arrest, is awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.
1993: The US imposes an arms embargo on Myanmar “in light of the human rights abuses being committed by the current Government of Burma.”.
1994: A ceasefire agreement is signed between the Kachin Independence Army (KIA) and the government.
1996: The EU adopts a Common Position on Burma which includes a ban on the sale or transfer of arms and weapons expertise to the country, visa restrictions on members of the military regime and their families and allies, and a freeze on officials’ overseas assets. It also suspends all bilateral aid other than humanitarian assistance.
1997: US expands sanctions to include all new investments.
July 1997: Burma joins the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN).
2001: The government releases over 200 political prisoners from jail, motivated by pressure from the international community.
2003: In mid-2003 international aid inflow is below 70 million US dollar, or less than 1,50 dollar per capita (pr. indbygger).
2003: The US Burma Freedom and Democracy Act bans Burmese imports, restricts financial transactions, freezes the assets of some financial institutions and extends visa restrictions on officials.
2004: Peace talks between government and Karen National Union (KNU) lead to an informal ceasefire.
2005: The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria withdraws from Burma, citing travel restrictions imposed by the government that limit access to their projects. The Fund’s projects were to have received 98,4 million dollar over five years, 11,8 million of which has already been distributed.
2005: A third-country programme is implemented to resettle officially registered Burmese refugees living in camps in Thailand to the US, Canada and Australia.
Since 2005, more than 58.000 Burmese refugees have been resettled under this programme.
Læs videre på
http://www.irinnews.org/Report/95197/MYANMAR-Timeline-post-independence
Begynd fra “2006: Government restrictions on foreign aid workers…..”
