Yangon, formerly romanized as Rangoon, is the capital of the Yangon Region and the largest city of Myanmar. Yangon served as the capital of Myanmar until 2006, when the military government relocated the administrative functions to the purpose-built capital city of Naypyidaw in north central Myanmar. With over five million people, Yangon is Myanmar's most populous city and its most important commercial centre.
Than Shwe is a retired Burmese army general who held influential positions within Myanmar's government. Serving as the chairman of the State Peace and Development Council (SPDC) from 1992 to 2011, he played a significant role in shaping the country's political landscape. During his tenure, he exercised considerable authority, contributing to a centralized power structure. His governance saw the implementation of various policies aimed at economic development, modernization and infrastructure improvements. Than Shwe was also involved in efforts to stabilize the country and manage internal conflicts. While his leadership was marked by significant achievements, it also faced scrutiny and criticism, particularly regarding allegations of human rights abuses and restrictions on political freedoms. Than Shwe's tenure coincided with a period of political transition and international scrutiny, with Myanmar experiencing both internal and external challenges.
The history of Myanmar covers the period from the time of first-known human settlements 13,000 years ago to the present day. The earliest inhabitants of recorded history were a Tibeto-Burman-speaking people who established the Pyu city-states ranged as far south as Pyay and adopted Theravada Buddhism.
Khin Nyunt is a retired Burmese army general widely recognized for his influential role in shaping Myanmar's political dynamics. Serving as the Chief of Intelligence and Prime Minister of Myanmar from 25 August 2003 to 18 October 2004, he played a crucial part in the nation's history. During his tenure, Khin Nyunt oversaw significant developments in Myanmar's intelligence and apparatus and government policies. He was instrumental in implementing reforms aimed at modernizing intelligence operations and promoting national security interests. However his leadership faced challenges, and he was eventually removed from power in 2004 amid political reshuffles within the ruling military junta. Despite his removal from office, Khin Nyunt's legacy continued to be debated, with some viewing him as a reformist figure and others critiquing his approach to governance.
Bogyoke Aung San was a Burmese politician, independence activist and revolutionary. He was instrumental in Myanmar's struggle for independence from British rule, but he was assassinated just six months before his goal was realized. Aung San is considered to be the founder of modern-day Myanmar and the Tatmadaw, and is commonly referred to by the titles "Father of the Nation", "Father of Independence", and "Father of the Tatmadaw".
The University of Yangon, located in Kamayut, Yangon, is the oldest university in Myanmar's modern education system and the best known university in Myanmar. The university offers mainly undergraduate and postgraduate degrees programs in liberal arts, sciences and law. Full-time bachelor's degrees were not offered at the university's main campus after the student protests of 1996. The bachelor's degree was re-offered from 2014 on. Today degrees in Political Science are offered to undergraduate students, as well as postgraduate diplomas in areas such as social work and geology.
Kyaw Zaw was one of the founders of the Tatmadaw and a member of the Thirty Comrades who trained in Japan in the struggle for independence from Britain. He was also one of the leaders of the Communist Party of Burma, and had lived in exile in Yunnan Province, China, since 1989 after retiring from politics.
The Myanmar Times, founded in 2000, is the oldest privately owned and operated English-language newspaper in Myanmar. A division of Myanmar Consolidated Media Co., Ltd. (MCM), The Myanmar Times published weekly English and Burmese-language news journals until March 2015, when the English edition began publishing daily, five days per week. Its head offices are in Yangon, with additional offices in Mandalay and Nay Pyi Taw. As the announcement shown in the official website of this newspaper, it has stopped nine media services on 21 February 2021 primarily for three months. However, its services are still suspended till now.
Insein Township is located in northern Yangon. The township comprises 21 wards, and shares borders with Shwepyitha township in the north, Hlaingthaya township in the west, Mingaladon township in the east and Mayangon township in the south. Insein is home to the Insein Prison, the most notorious prison in the country that houses hundreds of political prisoners. Until the 1990s, Insein, about 20 miles (32 km) from central Yangon, was beyond Yangon's city limits although by the 1980s, Insein was already integrated with the rest of the city. With the expansion of Yangon's city limits in the 1990s which also included founding new satellite towns, Insein was formally incorporated into Yangon.
The Irrawaddy is a news website by the Irrawaddy Publishing Group (IPG), founded in 1990 by Burmese exiles living in Thailand. As a publication produced by former Burmese activists who fled violent crackdowns on anti-military protests in 1988, it has always been closely associated with the pro-democracy movement, although it remains unaffiliated with any of the political groups that have emerged since the 8888 Uprising.
The Saffron Revolution was a series of economic and political protests and demonstrations that took place during August, September, and October 2007 in Myanmar. The protests were triggered by the decision of the national military government to remove subsidies on the sales prices of fuel. The national government is the only supplier of fuels and the removal of the price subsidy immediately caused diesel and petrol prices to increase by 66–100% and the price of compressed natural gas for buses to increase 500% in less than a week.
Insein Prison is located in Yangon Division, near Yangon (Rangoon), the old capital of Myanmar. From 1988 to 2011 it was run by the military junta of Myanmar, named the State Law and Order Restoration Council from 1988 to 2003 and the State Peace and Development Council (SPDC) from 2003 to 2011, and was used largely to repress political dissidents.
Mun Awng is a Kachin singer, songwriter, and pro-democracy activist.
The print, broadcast and online mass media in Burma has undergone strict censorship and regulation since the 1962 Burmese coup d'état. The constitution provides for freedom of speech and the press; however, the government prohibits the exercise of these rights in practice. Reporters Without Borders ranked Burma 174th out of 178 in its 2010 Press Freedom Index, ahead of just Iran, Turkmenistan, North Korea, and Eritrea. In 2015, Burma moved up to 144th place, ahead of many of its ASEAN neighbours such as Singapore, as a result of political changes in the country.
Nyi Nyi Lwin, more widely known by his monastic name U Gambira, is a former Buddhist monk, activist and a leader of the All-Burma Monks' Alliance, a group which helped lead the 2007 protests against Burma's military government. Following the protests, he went into hiding and published two editorials critical of the Burmese government in The Washington Post and The Guardian on 4 November 2007. He was arrested the same day.
Zaw Htet Ko Ko is a Burmese political activist. In 2008, he was sentenced an 11-year prison sentence for his work with the pro-democracy 88 Generation Students Group, and his detention was criticized by human rights groups including Amnesty International, which named him a prisoner of conscience. He was released in October 2011 in a series of amnesties for political prisoners.
Despite being an imported tradition, comic art had a significant impact on Burmese visual culture. Comic art is a form of visual expression defined by sequences of juxtaposed panels containing stylised images with bold outlines which incorporate text or symbols as an integral part of the narrative. Introduced by members of the British colonial elite, who were also amateur artists, cartooning and comic art was embraced by Burmese artists as a new mode of visual and critical expression. First appearing in the early 1910s, within two decades comics and cartoons emerged as a significant vehicle by which political and social criticism could be made within Burma's restricted public arena. As the number of print publications in Burma grew, from 22 in 1911 to 103 in 1921 and finally to over 200 by the close of the 1930s, comics became a substantial avenue for entertainment, art and discourse.
Nay Shwe Thway Aung, also known as Phoe La Pyae, is a Burmese public figure, business tycoon and musician. He is the grandson of Senior General Than Shwe, a retired senior army general and former Prime Minister of Myanmar. He has gained prominence for his involvement in various Business Ventures and has been associated with providing support to Myanmar's ruling regime and military government.
Ko Swe Win is a Burmese journalist based in Australia. He currently serves as the chief correspondent and editor-in-chief of Myanmar Now, a news service. He is currently the director of MYANMAR NOW LTD and MYANMAR NOW MEDIA PTY LTD.
The Battle of Insein was a 1949 battle during the Karen conflict where the Karen National Defence Organisation briefly captured the town of Insein, 9 miles from Rangoon. After 111 days of intense fighting, the KNDO failed their goal of capturing Rangoon, and retreated into the countryside.
