Child Soldiers of Burma
by Larissa Jane Cadd Detmold
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Image: Source Unknown
Child Soldiers of Burma The importance in a name. I want to begin by clarifying a fundamental difficulty everyone eventually encounters when discussing Burma / Myanmar. I encounter frequently, when I discuss issues relating to Burma, whether the country should be referred to as Myanmar or Burma. This problem has been complicated by some nations adopting the use of Myanmar, and others retaining the use of Burma. Before deciding whether to adopt one term or another one should have regard to the history of the name. Until 1989 the country had always in some form been referred to as Burma because the dominant ethnic group was (and in fact remains) the Burmans. An earlier group had existed prior the mediaeval period, the Mon, but they were replaced at this time by the Burmans. Throughout British colonisation and empirical governance, the name was Burma. Whether as a province of India, or in its own right: Burma! When the country obtained independence in 1948, it became the Union of Burma until 1962 when it became the Socialist Republic of Burma. Finally in 1989 it became the Union of Myanmar: this followed the 8888 uprising (8 August 1988), which ultimately resulted in the Burmese military replacing the 1974 Constitution with martial law. Therefore, when the name was changed to Myanmar by the military it wasn’t by popular consent. There are arguments supporting each name being used: Myanmar indicates a break with British colonialism and is alleged to be more inclusive of other ethnic populations; Burma indicates pro-democracy support and is alleged to be more disrespectful of non-Burma ethnic groups it imposes the indigenous name for Burma’s rather than an
Photo Credit : freewallsource.com
anglicised version seen to be more inclusive. Since 1989 the difference in meaning between Burma or Myanmar has become more than indigenous language versus colonial interpretation. The name used now identifies allegiance either to military rule or democratic reform. Notwithstanding recent developments democracy remains a live issue for expat Burmese & supporters of full democratic expression in Burma. Finally, some argue that Myanma (with no ‘r’) is the indigenous word for Burma and therefore should be preferred to Burma. But Myanmar is in truth only the literary (or written) version of the name. Myanmar as a spoken indigenous word is in fact pronounced ‘Bama’. This lends some support to the argument that it should be pronounced Burma in any event, and that it does marginalise ethnic Burmese. Interestingly, “Myanmar” has no counterpart noun for its nationality: it is the Burmese live in Burma or Myanmar, there is no such word Myanmar-‘ese’ or Myanmar-‘ish’. This paper will use Burma from this point onward out of respect to the democracy movement and the non-Burma ethnic minorities.
HISTORICAL BACKGROUND TO CIVIL CONFLICT IN BURMA An unstable history of civil conflict and an unstable union
For the last 1000 years both re-unification and deunification has been a constant feature of Burma. There have been many dynasties, kingdoms & empires. Although Burma is predominantly Buddhist, Hinduism, Islam & Christianity are also practised in minorities. Between 1886 and 1937, Burma was a province of JUNE 2015 CRIMINALISE WAR
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