Burma was an independent Buddhist kingdom from 11-13th centuries, when the country fell to Mongol invaders, before becoming a satellite of China. Burma came under the control of the British Raj in 1885. In 1937, Burma became a self-governing protectorate.

 

During WWII, Burma was the site of heavy fighting between the Japanese and the Allied forces. In 1948, Burma gained independence from the British. General Aung San (father of opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi), leader of Burma’s Independence movement, was assassinated in 1947.  General Aung San is still today regarded as the father of the nation. Following the death of Aung San, efforts to reconcile the many ethnic nationalities under the new Union failed. Burman rule has been contested by a number of ethnic rebel groups since Independence, most notably by the Karen, Kachin, Shan, Wa and Mon. Following a period of unstable parliamentary governance, military juntas have ruled Burma since 1962. Since 1988 a number of ethnic rebel groups reached ceasefires with the government, although few disarmed.

 

Throughout the 1960s, 70s and 80s a military junta under General Ne Win, the so-called Burma Socialist Programme Party (BSPP), pursued socialist economic policies with disastrous results. In July 1988, public discontent over the mounting economic chaos led to Ne Win’s resignation. But protest continued to spread and on 8 August 1988 hundreds of thousands of people nationwide marched to demand the BSPP’s replacement by an elected civilian government. The protests were brutally crushed by the military. Soldiers fired on the crowds killing thousands of demonstrators. Many others were arrested and imprisoned. The events of 8 August 1988 brought Aung San Suu Kyi to prominence as the leader of the National League for Democracy (NLD). She quickly became the most recognisable and charismatic Burmese Opposition leader and a global democracy icon.

 

In September 1988 the military re-established control under General Saw Maung who established the State Law and Order Restoration Council (SLORC).

 

The SLORC undertook to hold elections. However, in the run-up to elections, Daw Aung San Suu Kyi was placed under house arrest and many other senior NLD members were jailed. A free vote took place on 27 May 1990. Of 485 parliamentary seats contested, the NLD won 392 (over 80% of the seats). Ethnic minority parties opposed to the SLORC won an additional 65 seats. The military regime was taken by surprise and prevented the NLD from assuming power.  Many NLD leaders were imprisoned. Others fled the country and are still in exile.

 

In 1997, the ruling SLORC was reconstituted as the State Peace and Development Council (SPDC).  In 2003 General Khin Nyunt of the SPDC announced a 7-step road map to build a "modern, democratic, prosperous state". A National Convention was revived to draw up a new constitution. The NLD boycotted in protest at the continued house arrest of Aung San Suu Kyi and NLD Vice-Chairman U Tin Oo and the closure of NLD offices.

 

In October 2004, Khin Nyunt was ousted in a coup by the then current military dictator Than Shwe.