[Date Prev][Date Next][Thread Prev][Thread Next][Date Index
][Thread Index
]
Information Sheet No.B-1177(I)
- Subject: Information Sheet No.B-1177(I)
- From: OKKAR66129@xxxxxxx
- Date: Thu, 09 Dec 1999 06:09:00
MYANMAR INFORMATION COMMITTEE
YANGON
Information Sheet
No.B-1177(I) 9th December 1999
Special Feature
This office is presenting one of the chapters from the 21st Edition
of the booklet "Political Situation of Myanmar and Its Role In The Region"
for your information.
Confusion Over The Name Of The Country - Myanmar Or Burma
Refusing to call a nation by its proper official name may seem
insignificant to some but generates resentment among a very high majority of
the Myanmar population. The subject is concerned with the recognition of the
country by its original name. Of course, there are a few politicians in
Myanmar who for certain political reasons prefer to retain the name Burma
given by the former British Colonial
Administration.
Myanmar and its capital Yangon are not new names created by the State Law
and Order Restoration Council. In fact, Myanmar and Yangon are the original
names that were renamed Burma and Rangoon by the British Colonial
Administration. In spite of the fact that in the Myanmar language people use
the names Myanmar and Yangon, unfortunately, none of the successive Myanmar
Governments took the trouble of reinstating the original names. The SLORC
administration did so with two main purposes: to provide a feeling of release
from the British colonial past and to give a previously divided and fractious
country a sense of national unity under the new banner of "The Union of
Myanmar".
In the Union of Myanmar there are 8 major national races with some 135
ethnic minorities and among the 8 major nationalities Bamar is the largest
national race
constituting 70% of the whole population. In this regard, when the British
Colonial Administration colonized Myanmar in the late 1800 it is presumed
that Britain renamed it Burma since Bamar or Burmans (the British usage) were
the majority in the country which they occupied. In a cave temple built in
the Bagan area is a stone tablet bearing a date equivalent to AD 1190. It is
one of the first known references to
'Myanmar'. In contrast, the name 'Bamar' did not appear during this and
subsequent periods. The first reference to Bamar was only found in artifacts
and buildings dating from the KONBAUNG Period (18th and 19th centuries).
Moreover, it is quite nteresting to know that China since ancient times has
referred to Myanmar as Myan-Tin in the Chinese language. It never referred to
Myanmar as Burma-Tin or Bur-Tin as the British Colonial Administration had
re-named it.
A few years ago in Yangon there was an interview between the media people
and some of the leaders of the ethnic races (former insurgent groups) and
this question of name-change was raised by some of the media people. The
ethnic leaders' response was that they now feel they are not left out but are
being equally given a national identity under the name Myanmar. Naturally,
the ethnic group still opposing the Myanmar Government will say things
different because they have aligned themselves with the political party which
refuses to recognize the country by its original name.
The party (National League for Democracy) stated that the name-change is
not a priority and it has to be done with a vote. It is quite amazing for
someone to say such a thing since national unity is and always would be a top
priority in any country in the world. It would be highly pertinent to ask, if
the British Colonial Administration had implemented the name-change with a
vote. If General Aung San Myanmar?s
national leader had not been assassinated in 1947, before Myanmar regained
her independence, the national leaders of the time would have definitely
reinstated
the original names. For the new names imposed by the British, are not only
phonetically wrong but nationally and historically misrepresented.
Anyhow, since the United Nations has recognized Myanmar by her original
name it is the obligation of all U.N. member countries to accept it whether
they approve of it or not. If the situation had been reversed, certainly,
these same nations would be
urging the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) to impose sanctions and
embargoes on countries not recognizing and implementing the U.N. resolution or
mandate.