Aung San Suu Kyi, sometimes abbreviated to Suu Kyi, is a Burmese politician, diplomat, author, and a 1991 Nobel Peace Prize laureate who served as State Counsellor of Myanmar and Minister of Foreign Affairs from 2016 to 2021. She has served as the general secretary of the National League for Democracy (NLD) since the party's founding in 1988, and was registered as its chairperson while it was a legal party from 2011 to 2023. She played a vital role in Myanmar's transition from military junta to partial democracy in the 2010s.
Historically strained, Myanmar's foreign relations, particularly with Western nations, have improved since 2012. Relations became strained once more in 2017 with the Rohingya crisis. Myanmar has generally maintained warmer relations with near states and is a member of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations.
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 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 Burma Independence Army (BIA) was a pro-Japanese and revolutionary army that fought for the end of British rule in Burma by assisting the Japanese in their conquest of the country in 1942 during World War II. It was the first post-colonial army in Burmese history. The BIA was formed from a group known as the Thirty Comrades under the auspices of the Imperial Japanese Army after training the Burmese nationalists in 1941. The BIA's attempts at establishing a government during the invasion led to it being dissolved by the Japanese and the smaller Burma Defence Army (BDA) formed in its place. As Japan guided Burma towards nominal independence, the BDA was expanded into the Burma National Army (BNA) of the State of Burma, a puppet state under Ba Maw, in 1943.
Thakin Than Tun was a Burmese politician and leader of the Communist Party of Burma (CPB) from 1945 until his assassination in 1968. He was uncle of the former State Counsellor of Myanmar Aung San Suu Kyi.
The Irrawaddy is a news website by the Irrawaddy Publishing Group (IPG), founded in 1990 by Burmese exiles living in Thailand. From its inception, The Irrawaddy has taken an independent stance on Burmese politics. 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 8888 Uprising, also known as the People Power Uprising and the 1988 Uprising, was a series of nationwide protests, marches, and riots in Burma that peaked in August 1988. Key events occurred on 8 August 1988 and therefore it is commonly known as the "8888 Uprising". The protests began as a student movement and were organised largely by university students at the Rangoon Arts and Sciences University and the Rangoon Institute of Technology (RIT).
Thakin Soe was a founding member of the Communist Party of Burma, formed in 1939 and a leader of Anti-Fascist Organisation. He is regarded as one of Burma's most prominent communist leaders.
Insurgencies have been ongoing in Myanmar since 1948, the year the country, then known as Burma, gained independence from the United Kingdom. The conflict has largely been ethnic-based, with several ethnic armed groups fighting Myanmar's armed forces, the Tatmadaw, for self-determination. Despite numerous ceasefires and the creation of autonomous self-administered zones in 2008, many armed groups continue to call for independence, increased autonomy, or the federalisation of the country. The conflict is the world's longest ongoing civil war, having spanned more than seven decades.
China–Myanmar relations are the international relations between the People's Republic of China and Myanmar. China and Myanmar have active bilateral relations with each other. The relation is often described as a pauk-phaw relationship, based a Burmese term for kinsfolk that implicates special asymmetric obligations between the two countries.
The Communist Party of Burma (CPB), also known as the Burma Communist Party (BCP), is a clandestine communist party in Myanmar (Burma). It is the oldest existing political party in the country.
The United Wa State Party is the ruling party of Wa State, an autonomous region in northern Shan State, Myanmar (Burma). It was founded on 3 November 1989 as a merger between the Burma National United Party (BNUP) and several smaller, non-communist Wa groups. Its armed wing is the United Wa State Army (UWSA), and its chairman and commander in chief is Bao Youxiang.
The Rohingya conflict is an ongoing conflict in the northern part of Myanmar's Rakhine State, characterised by sectarian violence between the Rohingya Muslim and Rakhine Buddhist communities, a military crackdown on Rohingya civilians by Myanmar's security forces, and militant attacks by Rohingya insurgents in Buthidaung, Maungdaw, and Rathedaung Townships, which border Bangladesh.
The Kuomintang in Burma or Kuomintang in the Golden Triangle were Kuomintang troops that fled from Communist-controlled China to Burma in 1950 after their defeat by the Communists in the Chinese Civil War. Officially the Yunnan Anti-communist National Salvation Army, the Chinese Nationalist troops in Burma were commanded by General Li Mi. It attempted several incursions into Yunnan in the early 1950s, only to be pushed back into Burma each time by the Chinese Communist Party's People's Liberation Army.
The Rohingya Patriotic Front (RPF) was a political organisation headquartered in Cox's Bazar, Bangladesh. The RPF had a small and poorly armed insurgent army of 70 fighters, who were active along the Bangladesh–Burma border and in northern Arakan, Burma. The goal of the RPF was to create an autonomous Muslim zone for the Rohingya people.
Aung Zaw,, is a Burmese journalist, editor, and founder of major publishing media The Irrawaddy. He was jailed and tortured at the age of 20, then covertly escaped his home country after he began protesting the governments socialist military regime during the 8888 Uprising. His news magazine reported on event later during the Saffron Revolution.
A coup d'état in Myanmar began on the morning of 1 February 2021, when democratically elected members of the country's ruling party, the National League for Democracy (NLD), were deposed by the Tatmadaw—Myanmar's military—which then vested power in a military junta. Acting president Myint Swe proclaimed a year-long state of emergency and declared power had been transferred to Commander-in-Chief of Defence Services Min Aung Hlaing. It declared the results of the November 2020 general election invalid and stated its intent to hold a new election at the end of the state of emergency. The coup d'état occurred the day before the Parliament of Myanmar was due to swear in the members elected at the 2020 election, thereby preventing this from occurring. President Win Myint and State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi were detained, along with ministers, their deputies, and members of Parliament.
Sumlut Gun Maw is an officer of the Kachin Independence Army who is currently serving as the vice chief-of-staff with the rank of brigadier general since 2009.
Peter Popham is an English journalist, author, and playwright. He is best known for his journalism at The Independent from 1990 to 2016, and his books on Aung San Suu Kyi.
Myanmar–South Korea relations are the bilateral relations between the Republic of the Union of Myanmar and the Republic of Korea. The two countries established their diplomatic relations on 16 May 1975.
