Human rights in Myanmar under its military regime have long been regarded as among the worst in the world. In 2022, Freedom House rated Myanmar’s human rights at 9 out 100.
The State Peace and Development Council was the official name of the military government of Burma (Myanmar) which, in 1997, succeeded the State Law and Order Restoration Council that had seized power under the rule of Saw Maung in 1988. On 30 March 2011, Senior General and Council Chairman Than Shwe signed a decree that officially dissolved the council.
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.
Su Su Nway is a Burmese democracy activist and political prisoner. In 2005, she became the first Burmese national to successfully sue local government officials under a 1999 law on forced labour.
Paw Oo Tun, better known by his alias Min Ko Naing, is a leading democracy activist and dissident from Myanmar. He has spent most of the years since 1988 imprisoned by the state for his opposition activities. The New York Times has described him as Burma's "most influential opposition figure after Daw Aung San Suu Kyi".
Thura Shwe Mann is a Burmese politician who was Speaker of the Pyithu Hluttaw, the lower house of parliament from 31 January 2011 to 29 January 2016. He is a former army general and, whilst being a protégé of senior general Than Shwe, was considered the third most powerful man in the State Peace and Development Council (SPDC), which ruled Myanmar until 2011.
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.
Maung Thura "Zarganar" ; born 27 January 1961) is a popular Burmese comedian, film actor, and a film director as well as a fierce critic and often political prisoner of the Burmese military government. Known for his wicked puns against the government which is a military junta, Zarganar, whose name translates to "tweezers", is widely considered to be the most popular comedian and satirist in Myanmar.
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.
The Union Solidarity and Development Association was a Burmese political party founded with the active aid of Myanmar's ruling military junta, the State Law and Order Restoration Council (SLORC), on 15 September 1993.
Myint Swe is a Burmese politician and retired army general currently serving as Acting President of Myanmar as well as First Vice President. He previously served as the acting president after the resignation of President Htin Kyaw on 21 March 2018, and the chief minister of Yangon Region from 30 March 2011 to 30 March 2016. On 30 March 2016, he was sworn in as the vice president of Myanmar. A member of the military proxy Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP), he is an ethnic Mon former lieutenant general in the Myanmar Army.
The National Democratic Force (NDF) is a political party in Myanmar (Burma). It was founded by former members of the National League for Democracy (NLD) who disagreed with the party leadership's decision to boycott the 2010 general election.
The Union Solidarity and Development Party is an ultranationalist, pro-military political party in Myanmar. Alongside the National League for Democracy, it is one of Myanmar's two principal national parties. USDP is the successor to the former ruling military junta's mass organisation, the Union Solidarity and Development Association, and serves as the electoral proxy of the Tatmadaw (military), which operates as a state within a state. Many of its political candidates and leadership are retired generals. It supports authoritarian military leadership. USDP was founded by Prime Minister Thein Sein to contest the 2010 Myanmar general election; the party was headed by Sein until 2013. Since 2022, it has been led by Khin Yi, who was installed as a loyalist of military leader Min Aung Hlaing.
Htay Kywe is a repeatedly-imprisoned Burmese pro-democracy activist who was considered a prisoner of conscience by Amnesty International. BBC News describes him as a key member of the 8888 Generation movement.
Thin Thin Aye, better known as Mie Mie, was a Burmese democracy activist who organized and led numerous anti-government protests. She was imprisoned three times between 1988 and 2012, and Amnesty International considered her to be a prisoner of conscience.
The 88 Generation Students is a Burmese pro-democracy movement known for their activism against the country's military junta. Many of its members were imprisoned by the Burmese government on charges of "illegally using electronic media" and "forming an illegal organisation". A number of Western governments and human rights organisations called for the release of group members on the grounds that they were political prisoners.
The Union Election Commission is the national level electoral commission of Myanmar (Burma), responsible for organising and overseeing elections in Burma, as well as vetting parliamentary candidates and political parties.
Yayway Cemetery is a cemetery located in North Okkalapa Township, Yangon, Myanmar. The cemetery is the final resting place of many prominent Burmese. The cemetery is maintained by the Yangon City Development Committee's environmental maintenance department. Yayway Cemetery also consists of various ethnic and religious cemeteries, including those of the Burmese Indians, Sino-Burmese, Karen, Japanese, Baháʼís, Hindus, Christians, Muslims, Parsis, and Jews.
Myint Aye is a Burmese democracy activist. In 2002, he co-founded the Human Rights Defenders and Promoters network in Burma. After several imprisonments on charges related to his activism, on 29 November 2008, he was given a life sentence for allegedly planning a bomb attack in Yangon's Shwepyitha Township. Amnesty International described the evidence against him as "fabricated" and designated him a prisoner of conscience. He was released from prison on 19 November 2012, as a gesture of goodwill before a visit by US President Barack Obama.
Events in the year 2022 in Myanmar.
