သမုိင္းေရးရာအျဖာျဖာ

15th June,
မိတ္ေဆြမ်ား ခင္ဗ်ား;
ကၽြန္ေတာ္တို႕အေနနဲ႕ ျမန္မာ႕သမုိင္း၊ ကမၻာ႕သမုိင္းေတြကုိဗဟုသုတ အေနနဲ႕သိထားသင္႔တယ္လုိ႔ယူဆပါတယ္။ အဂၤလိပ္စာနဲ႕သမုိင္းနဲ႕ပူးတြဲ ေလ႕လာရေအာင္ BBC country profile နဲ႕ wekipedia တုိ႕မွ ထုတ္ႏူတ္၍ ေအာက္ပါ အစီအစဥ္ေလးကုိ အခန္း ဆက္အေနနဲ႕တင္ျပေပးသြားပါမယ္။
အားလုံးကုိေလးစားလွ်က္။ Alinthit,

Country profile: Burma

Burma, also known as Myanmar, is ruled by a military junta which suppresses almost all dissent and wields absolute power in the face of international condemnation and sanctions.
The generals and the army stand accused of gross human rights abuses, including the forcible relocation of civilians and the widespread use of forced labour, which includes children.


Overview

A popular uprising was forcibly crushed in 1988 and mass demonstrations were not seen again until 2007, when a small string of protests about living standards gained momentum among a public normally too cowed to voice any dissent.

Prominent pro-democracy leader and Nobel Peace Prize winner, Aung San Suu Kyi, has had various restrictions placed on her activities since the late 1980s.
Her party, the National League for Democracy, won a landslide victory in 1990 in Burma's first multi-party elections for 30 years, but has never been allowed to govern.
Military-run enterprises control key industries, and corruption and severe mismanagement are the hallmarks of a black-market-riven economy.
The armed forces - and former rebels co-opted by the government - have been accused of large-scale trafficking in heroin, of which Burma is a major exporter.
The largest group is the Burman people, who are ethnically related to the Tibetans and the Chinese. Burman dominance over Karen, Shan, Rakhine, Mon, Chin, Kachin and other minorities has been the source of considerable ethnic tension and has fuelled intermittent separatist rebellions.
Military offensives against insurgents have uprooted many thousands of civilians.
A largely rural, densely forested country, Burma is the world's largest exporter of teak and a principal source of jade, pearls, rubies and sapphires. It is endowed with extremely fertile soil and has important offshore oil and gas deposits. However, its people remain very poor and are getting poorer.
Activists argue that French oil interests fuel oppression by co-operating with the junta in a joint venture to exploit gas. They allege that France has been blocking tough European Union sanctions against the military.
The country is festooned with the symbols of Buddhism. Thousands of pagodas throng its ancient towns; these have been a focus for an increasingly important tourism industry.
But while tourism has been a magnet for foreign investment, its benefits have hardly touched the people.


Leaders

Head of state: Than Shwe, chairman of the State Peace and Development Council (SPDC)
Senior General Than Shwe is the country's top military leader and heads the SPDC, the body of 12 senior generals that runs the country and makes the key decisions.
He has steadfastly ruled out a transfer of power to Aung San Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy (NLD).
In 1993 he established the National Convention, a reconciliation process aimed at drawing up a new constitution. However, the general is said to be in no hurry to allow political change and talks have been boycotted by the NLD.
Born in 1933 near the town of Mandalay, Than Shwe joined the army at the age of 20. His career included a stint in the department of psychological warfare. He was decorated more than 16 times during his career as a soldier.
He is said to be introverted and superstitious, frequently seeking the advice of astrologers.
Reports in early 2007 said the 73-year-old had sought treatment in Singapore for an undisclosed medical condition.
Power struggles have plagued Burma's military leadership. Prime Minister Khin Nyunt was sacked and arrested in 2004. The former premier, who said he supported Aung San Suu Kyi's involvement in the National Convention, was seen as a moderate who was at odds with the junta's hardliners.

Facts

• Official name: Union of Myanmar
• Population: 48.8 million (UN, 2007)
• Capital: Nay Pyi Taw
• Largest city: Rangoon (Yangon)
• Area: 676,552 sq km (261,218 sq miles)
• Major languages: Burmese, indigenous ethnic languages
• Major religions: Buddhism, Christianity, Islam
• Life expectancy: 59 years (men), 65 years (women) (UN)
• Monetary unit: 1 kyat = 100 pyas
• Main exports: Teak, pulses and beans, prawns, fish, rice, opiates, oil and gas
• GNI per capita: not available
• Internet domain: .mm
• International dialling code: +95

History of Burma

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The History of Burma (or Myanmar) is long and complicated. Several races of people have lived in the region, the oldest of which are probably the Mon or the Pyu. In the 9th century the Bamar (Burman) people migrated from the then China-Tibet border region into the valley of the Ayeyarwady, and now form the governing majority.
The history of the region comprises complexities not only within the country but also with its neighbouring countries, China, India, Bangladesh, Viet Nam, Laos and Thailand.

Early History of Burma

Humans lived in the region that is now Burma as early as 11,000 years ago, but the first identifiable civilisation is that of the Pyu although both Burman and Mon tradition claim that the fabled Suvarnabhumi mentioned in ancient Pali and Sanskrit texts was a Mon kingdom centred on Thaton in present day Mon state.
Artefacts from the excavated site of Nyaunggan help to reconstruct Bronze Age life in Burma and the more recent archaeological evidence at Samon Valley south of Mandalay suggests rice growing settlements between about 500 BC and 200 AD which traded with Qin and Han dynasty China.[1]

Pyu

The Pyu arrived in Burma in the 1st century BC and established city kingdoms at Binnaka, Mongamo, Sri Ksetra, Peikthanomyo, and Halingyi. During this period, Burma was part of an overland trade route from China to India. Chinese sources state that the Pyu controlled 18 kingdoms and describe them as a humane and peaceful people. War was virtually unknown amongst the Pyu, and disputes were often solved through duels by champions or building competitions. They even wore silk cotton instead of actual silk so they would not have to kill silk worms. Crime was punished by whippings and jails were unknown, though serious crimes could result in the death penalty. The Pyu practiced Theravada Buddhism, and all children were educated as novices in the temples from the age of seven until the age of 20.
The Pyu city-states never unified into a Pyu kingdom, but the more powerful cities often dominated and called for tribute from the lesser cities. The most powerful city by far was Sri Ksetra, which archaeological evidence indicates was the largest city that has ever been built in Burma. The exact date of its founding is not known, though likely to be prior to a dynastic change in A.D. 94 that Pyu chronicles speak of. Sri Ksetra was apparently abandoned around A.D. 656 in favour of a more northerly capital, though the exact site is not known. Some historians believe it was Halingyi. Wherever the new capital was located, it was sacked by the kingdom of Nanzhao in the mid-9th century, ending the Pyu's period of dominance.

Mon

The 6th century Mon kingdom of Dvaravati in the lower Chao Phraya valley in present day Thailand extended its frontiers to the Tenasserim Yoma (mountains). With subjugation by the Khmer Empire from Angkor in the 11th century the Mon shifted further west deeper into present day Burma. Oral tradition suggests that they had contact with Buddhism via seafaring as early as the 3rd century BC and had received an envoy of monks from Ashoka in the 2nd century BC.
The Mons adopted Indian culture together with Theravada Buddhism and are thought to have founded kingdoms in Lower Burma including Thaton in the 6th or 7th century and Bago (Pegu) in 825 with the kingdom of Raman'n'adesa (or Ramanna which is believed to be Thaton) referenced by Arab geographers in 844–8.[1] The lack of archaeological evidence for this may in part be due to the focus of excavation work predominantly being in Upper Burma.

Pagan Kingdom

To the north another group of people, the Bamar (Mranma / Myanma), also began to settle in the area. By 849, they had founded a powerful kingdom centred on the city of Pagan (spelled Bagan today) filling the void left by the Pyu.
Bamar tradition maintains that the Bamar were originally of three tribes: the Pyu; the Thet; and the Kanyan. Indeed, Pyu as a language and as a people simply disappeared soon after the Myazedi Inscription of 1113. The word Mranma,in both Mon and Myanmar inscriptions, came into being only at about the same time, lending support to this claim that the Pyu were an earlier vanguard of southward Tibeto-Burman migration who were entirely absorbed into a newly formed identity by later waves of similar people .
The Pagan Kingdom grew in relative isolation until the reign of Anawrahta (1044-77) who successfully unified all of Burma by defeating the Mon city of Thaton in 1057. Consolidation was accomplished under his successors Kyanzittha (1084–1112) and Alaungsithu (1112-67), so that by the mid-12th century, most of continental Southeast Asia was under the control of either the Pagan Kingdom or the Khmer Empire. The Pagan kingdom went into decline as more land and resources fell into the hands of the powerful Sangha (monkhood) and the Mongols threatened from the north. The last true ruler of Pagan, Narathihapate (1254-87) felt confident in his ability to resist the Mongols and advanced into Yunnan in 1277 to make war upon them. He was thoroughly crushed at the Battle of Ngasaunggyan, and Pagan resistance virtually collapsed. The king was assassinated by his own son in 1287, precipitating a Mongol invasion in the Battle of Pagan; the Mongols successfully captured most of the empire, including its capital, and ended the dynasty in 1289 when they installed a puppet ruler in Burma.

Ava and Pegu (c. 1364–1555)

After the collapse of Pagan authority, Burma was divided. A Burman Ava Dynasty (1364–527) was eventually established at the city of Ava by 1364. Pagan culture was revived and a great age of Burmese literature ensued. The kingdom lacked easily defendable borders, however, and was overrun by the Shan in 1527.
To the south in Lower Burma, a Mon dynasty established itself first at Martaban and then at Pegu. During the reign of king Rajadhirat (1383–1421) Ava and Pegu were involved in continuous warfare. The peaceful reign of Queen Baña Thau (Burmese: Shin Saw Bu;1453-72) came to an end when she chose the Buddhist monk Dhammazedi (1472-92) to succeed her. Under Dhammazedi Pegu became a centre of commerce and Theravada Buddhism.
The Kingdom of Ava was involved in continuous warfare with Tai (Shan) princelings to the north on the frontier with Yunnan. There were repeated Tai raids on the capital of Ava and Ava sent military northwards to attack Tai fiefdoms such as Mong Mao. The Ming dynasty that ruled China from the late fourteenth century often tried unsuccessfully to put an end to this warfare through traditional Chinese diplomacy. Ava occasionally became involved in the warfare between the Ming and Tai in Yunnan such as in the Luchuan-Pingmian Campaigns (1436-49).

Toungoo Dynasties

King Mingyinyo founded the First Toungoo Dynasty (1486–1599) at Toungoo, south of Ava, towards the end of the Ava dynasty. After the conquest of Ava by the Shan invaders in 1527 many Burmans migrated to Toungoo which became a new center for Burmese rule.
Mingyinyo's son king Tabinshwehti (1531-50) unified most of Burma. By this time, the geopolitical situation in Southeast Asia had changed dramatically. The Shan gained power in a new kingdom in the North, Ayutthaya (Siam), while the Portuguese had arrived in the south and conquered Malacca. With the coming of European traders, Burma was once again an important trading centre, and Tabinshwehti moved his capital to Pegu due to its strategic position for commerce. Tabinshwehti was able to gain control of Lower Burma up to Prome, but the campaigns he led to the Arakan, Ayutthaya, and Ava in Upper Burma were unsuccessful.
When Bayinnaung (1551-81), Tabinshwehti's brother-in-law, succeeded to the throne he launched a campaign of conquest invading several states, including Manipur (1560) and Ayutthaya (1569). His wars stretched Burma to the limits of its resources, however, and both Manipur and Ayutthaya were soon independent once again.
Faced with rebellion by several cities and renewed Portuguese incursions, the Toungoo rulers withdrew from southern Burma and founded a second dynasty at Ava, the Restored Toungoo Dynasty (1597–1752). Bayinnaung's grandson, Anaukpetlun, once again reunited Burma in 1613 and decisively defeated Portuguese attempts to take over Burma. His successor Thalun reestablished the principles of the old Pagan kingdom, but concentrated his efforts on religious merit and paid little attention to the southern part of his kingdom. Encouraged by the French in India, Pegu finally rebelled against Ava, further weakening the state, which fell in 1752.

Konbaung Dynasty

It did not take long for a new dynasty, the Konbaung Dynasty, to arise and bring Burma to its greatest power yet. A popular Burmese leader named Alaungpaya drove the Pegu forces out of northern Burma by 1753, and by 1759 he had once again conquered Pegu, resulting in total subjugation of the Mon people, and southern Burma, while also regaining control of Manipur. He established his capital briefly at Dagon, renaming it Yangon (End of Strife). In 1760, he briefly conquered Tenasserim. He also marched on Ayutthaya, but became seriously ill and was forced to withdraw, ending the invasion, and he died on the journey back. His second son Hsinbyushin (1763-76) returned to Ayutthaya (Siam) in 1766 and had conquered it before the end of the next year. Even China began to fear expansion of Burmese power in the East and sent armies to Burma, but Hsinbyushin successfully repulsed four Chinese invasions between 1766 and 1769 stretching its limits within Chinese borders. Another of Alaungpaya's sons, Bodawpaya (1781–1819), lost control of Ayutthaya, but added Arakan (1784) and Tenasserim (1793) to the kingdom. In January 1824, during the reign of King Bagyidaw (1819-37), a Burmese general Maha Bandula succeeded in conquering Assam, bringing Burma face to face with British interests in India.
To be continued----