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1 [1] (March 22, 2024)

handle is hein.crs/goveotl0001 and id is 1 raw text is: Con r &on I Research S info ingi Ie~ I ivednae tiSi Updated March 22, 2024 Burma: Background and Issues for Congress Overvi ew Burma (also known as Myanmar) is a multi-ethnic Southeast Asian nation of 57.5 million that has been under some degree of military rule since 1962 and under an authoritarian military junta since a February 2021 coup d'dtat. The coup ended a decade-long period of partial democratization and ushered in a broad nationwide conflict that has killed tens of thousands of people and, according to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), displaced 2.7 million. More than three years after the coup, the military (commonly known as the Tatmadaw) is fighting several ethnic armed groups on Burma's periphery as well as recently formed anti-junta militias across much of the country. Anti-junta activists overseas, including some members of the ousted National League for Democracy (NLD), the political party of Nobel Laureate Aung San Suu Kyi, have created a shadow government called the National Unity Government (NUG) and are seeking diplomatic recognition. In 2023, the NUG opened an office in Washington DC. Congress has taken considerable interest in Burma since a democratic movement rose there in the late 1980s. In the 117th Congress, the James M. Inhofe National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2023 (NDAA 2023; P.L. 117-263) included provisions related to the coup that had been part of the Burma Unified through Rigorous Military Accountability Act (BURMA Act; H.R. 5497/S. 2937), passed by the House of Representatives on April 6, 2022. The NDAA states that it is U.S. policy to support the people of Burma in their struggle for democracy, freedom, human rights, and justice and authorizes additional sanctions and non-lethal, technical assistance to resistance groups, among other provisions. Congress also has appropriated resources to provide humanitarian assistance and promote democracy and human rights in Burma. Background Burma gained independence from the U.K. in 1948, and in its early years, some political leaders including Aung San Suu Kyi's father, Aung San, sought to develop some form of federalism in the multi-ethnic nation. A 1962 coup installed a military junta, initiating a decades-long period of military rule. The junta, then known as the State Law and Order Restoration Council (SLORC), ignored the results of a 1990 general election won by Aung San Suu Kyi's NLD. Beginning in 2010, Burma underwent a partial transition toward a more democratic system, in which a hybrid civilian-military government led the country following parliamentary elections in 2010 and 2015. The civilian side of the government undertook some political and economic reforms, released thousands of political prisoners, and loosened restrictions on the media, while the military retained control of the country's security ministries. During this period, the military committed grievous human rights abuses, particularly against Burma's Rohingya minority. Burma held another election in November 2020, in which the NLD won a majority of parliamentary seats, as it had in 2015. However, the ensuing coup halted the seating of the newly elected parliament and installed another junta, known as the State Administrative Council (SAC), led by military commander Min Aung Hlaing. The junta arrested Aung San Suu Kyi and many other NLD leaders. Figure I: Burma Source: CIA World Factbook. The ensuing conflict has spread across much of the country. Regional and international concern has mounted as the military has repeatedly used lethal force against peaceful protestors, waged offensives-including with airstrikes- against ethnic minority militias in war-riven regions, and allegedly committed a wide range of other human rights violations, including targeted killings, burning of villages, and sexual violence. OCHA reports that as of March 2024, more than 18 million people are in humanitarian need. It cites active fighting, administrative restrictions imposed by all sides, and violence and harassment of humanitarian personnel as barriers to providing assistance. According to the World Bank, Burma's gross domestic product shrank 10% between 2019 and 2023, making it the only East Asian country that has not returned to pre- pandemic levels of economic activity. Observers report sharply rising food prices and persistent fuel shortages. Diverse Resistan ce The resistance to Burma's military junta is broad and diverse, and it is unclear whether its numerous elements share a common vision for the country's future. In April 2021, a group of ousted parliamentarians, most of them in exile, named a shadow cabinet, the NUG, which included Aung San Suu Kyi as acting State Counsellor and a full cabinet of ministers, including a shadow foreign minister.

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