Chinyi Chen - Jessica Brockman – Linh Pham

 March 1962 - Coup d'état by the military junta

 March 1974 – transfer of power from the armed
forces to a People’s Assembly of former military
leaders headed by Ne Win – Ne Win becomes
president
 1988 – Ne Win resigns and military junta takes
power under the name the State Law and Order
Restoration Council – suspension of constitution
 May 1990 – National League for Democracy (NLD)
led by Aung San Suu Kyi won 392 out of 495 seats
in the first multi-party general election since 1960
 June 1990 – SLORC chief Saw Maung refuses a
quick transfer of power, saying a new constitution
is required first
 1992 – Than Shwe replaces Saw Maung as SLORC
chairman
 October 2007 – Junta appoints 54-member commission, mostly
military officers and civil servants, to draft constitution
 May 2009 – Burma’s constitution is confirmed and enacted
 March 2010 – Government announces that long-awaited
election laws have been passed, with provisions for an electoral
commission handpicked by the junta.
 August 2010 – general elections set for November 7th Senior
officials step down to stand as candidates
 October 2010 – Official name of country changed to Republic of
Union of Myanmar
 November elections 2010 – Military-backed party (Union
Solidarity and Development Party) wins about 80% of the seats
– election widely condemned in the West as a sham
 Constitution: 25% of seats in parliament reserved for the
military. Of the remaining 75% supposedly allocated to
civilians, ministers who resigned from the army ran as
civilians
 Election law: Those with criminal convictions cannot take
part - ruling out many activists
 Election law: Members of religious
orders cannot take part - ruling
out monks
 Election commission: Handpicked
by Burma's military government
 Cancelling of elections in ethnic
minority states
Junta-backed Union Solidarity and Development
Party
National Unity Party – backed by supporters of
previous military ruler
National League For Democracy (opposition party) –
biggest competitor in elections, boycotted the
elections
National Democratic Force (opposition party)
contesting only 164 seats
Flag for USDP
Than Shwe – current Prime Minister
Personality – Active-negative
Personal experience and political history
– associated with brutal put-downs of Karen independence and pro-democracy
movements
First entered politics by aiding General Ne Win seize power in a coup that
ended democracy in Burma in 1962
Mental health – several year-long commitment to a psychiatric hospital for post
traumatic stress disorder
Highly superstitious – moved the national capital overnight in 2005 due to
advice from an astrologer
Physical health - suffers from diabetes and may have intestinal cancer
Ego and ambition
Has lofty aspirations and dwells on internal matters such as quelling political
dissent and securing power -> possibly attempting to develop a nuclear
weaponry programme
Factors Effect on Burma

Type of government – authoritarian Foreign policy-making dominated by

government military junta

Type of situation – crisis situation Military junta feels threatened

Need to regain control over the country
using the elections
Improve international image
 Restricts NGOs activities
The authorities told NGOs and UN agencies that ongoing
recovery efforts to help people still affected by Cyclone Nargis
were to be centralized and organizations would have to obtain
new memorandums of understanding (MOUs)
 Asian and apolitical NGOs have more access
 Democratic Voice of Burma
• Accepted Burma as the youngest member
• Main regional actor that has constantly been
defending Burma from external pressure
• Non-interference policy: rejected the western
approach which focuses on pushing agendas through
political and economic sanctions  Non-action
• Being heavily criticized for protecting the military
regime — may dampen political and regional security
cooperation/ expansion of international role
• An awkward position as it must be the first to endorse the
outcome being condemned world-wide
• ASEAN's overall  bargaining power still rests on its
continued high economic growth contributing to global
economic recovery.
• Argues that Burma's full integration with ASEAN would
help to sustain such dynamism due to its huge population
and abundant natural resources.
• Eventually, it is inevitable that ASEAN will
have to embrace Burma's post-election by
concurring to have Burma take up the
ASEAN chair in January 2014, after Brunei.
 Liberal view
 Pessimistic – many believe that no change would be  Optimistic – the first
made for democratic progress election in 2 decades suggest
 Might makes right – result is predictable as military
a gradual progress towards
juntas are still in power
democracy
 Zero – sum game
 Non-zero sum game
 No trust in other countries and their people e.g
Foreign journalists and election monitors forbidden
to enter the country to observe the polls
  Systematic rigging and voter intimidation, no
international observation
 Violence: be shot or vote
 Policy: military juntas pursue self-interest/preserve
power
 Cancelling of elections in minority areas
Underdeveloped economy
Human rights violations
Impact on ASEAN
 ASEAN states have set the common goal of creating a
Political and Security Community by 2015, in which
they want to promote democracy and the protection of
human rights within the region
Commitment to democracy
 Failure to hold free, fair, and genuinely inclusive
elections
World’s longest continuing civil war
What effects, if any, will the election results have on
the progress towards democracy?
What role should ASEAN be playing in Burma?
How does Burma’s elections affect the United States
and other countries?
 "Voting Ends in Myanmar Election - Asia-Pacific - Al Jazeera English." AJE - Al Jazeera English. 07 Nov. 2010. Web. 20
Nov. 2010. <http://english.aljazeera.net/news/asia-pacific/2010/11/20101170373336867.html>.
 "Myanmar (Burma) Human Rights." Amnesty International USA - Protect Human Rights. Web. 20 Nov. 2010.
<http://www.amnestyusa.org/all-countries/myanmar-burma/page.do?id=1011205>.
“Burma Timeline” BBC News. 13 Nov. 2010. Web. 22 Nov 2010.
<http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/1300082.stm> 
“ The Election in Burma: What Is America’s Stake? - Up Front Blog - Brookings Institution." Brookings - Quality.
Independence. Impact. 05 Oct. 2010. Web. 20 Nov. 2010.
<http://www.brookings.edu/opinions/2010/1005_burma_election_rieffel.aspx?rssid=myanmar>.
“Rangoon voters allege harrassment” Democratic Voice of Burma. 7 Nov. 2010. Web. 22 Nov 2010.
<http://www.dvb.no/elections/rangoon-voters-allege-harassment/12638>
“Myanmar Officials cancel vote in ethnic minority areas” Environment & Developement -Deutsche Welle. 05 Nov. 2010.
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 Shah, Anup. "Myanmar (formerly Burma) and Human Rights — Global Issues." Global Issues : Social, Political, Economic
and Environmental Issues That Affect Us All — Global Issues. 06 Sept. 2001. Web. 20 Nov. 2010.
<http://www.globalissues.org/article/147/myanmar-formerly-burma-and-human-rights>.
Nugroho, Bambang. "The Future of Myanmar and ASEAN after the Elections | The Jakarta Post." Home | The Jakarta Post.
16 Nov. 2010. Web. 20 Nov. 2010. <http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2010/11/16/the-future-myanmar-and-asean-
after-elections.html>.
  "U.S., Australia Condemn Myanmar Elections › Japan Today: Japan News and Discussion." Japan Today: Japan News and
Discussion. 08 Nov. 2010. Web. 20 Nov. 2010. <http://www.japantoday.com/category/world/view/us-australia-
condemn-myanmar-elections>.
“First Burmese elections in 20 years set for Sunday” The Washington Post. 02 Nov 2010. Web. 22 Nov 2010.
<http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/11/02/AR2010110204229.html>
“Burma's Elections Dominated by Military-Backed Political Parties” Voice Of America News. 06 Nov. 2010. Web. 22 Nov.
2010.<http://www.voanews.com/english/news/Burmas-Elections-Dominated-by-Military-Backed-Political-Parties-
106817938.html>