Government of Burma

Myanmar (also known as Burma) is a unitary parliamentary republic under its constitution of 2008.

Historically, Currently called Myanmar after being formerly changed from Burma; was a monarchy ruled by various dynasties prior to the 19th century. The British colonized Burma (Myanmar) in the late 19th century, and it was part of British India until 1937.

Burma (Myanmar) was ruled as a British colony from 1885 until 1948. While the Bamar heartland was directly administered, first as a part of India and then, from 1937, as British Burma, ethnic regions outside the heartland were allowed some measure of self-rule along the lines of the Princely States of India. This led to split loyalties among the various ethnic groups to outside powers in Burma either to the British or Japanese. The dominant ethnic group in Burma are the Bamar, who make up approximately sixty-eight percent of the population. During World War II, many members of the Bamar ethnic group volunteered to fight alongside the Japanese in hopes of overthrowing the occupying British forces.

Meanwhile, many other ethnic groups supported the Allied forces in combating the Japanese and Burman forces. This conflict would come to be very significant in the aftermath of World War Two when Burma was granted its independence from Great Britain in 1948. By granting independence to Burma, the British government gave the new ruler, Aung San, control over areas that were not traditionally controlled by the Bamar. This conglomeration of formerly British-owned land created a state that is home to over twenty distinct minority ethnic groups.

From the time of the signing of the Burmese Constitution in 1948, ethnic minorities have been denied Constitutional rights, access to lands that were traditionally controlled by their peoples and participation in the government. The various minority ethnic groups have been consistently oppressed by the dominant Burman majority, but have also suffered at the hands of warlords and regional ethnic alliances. Religion also plays a role in the ethnic conflicts that have taken place. Muslims, Hindus, Christians and Buddhists all live in Burma. These religious differences have led to several incidents that have affected hundreds of thousands of citizens that live in Burma.

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