Myanmar

K

Communications

All postal, telegraph, telephone, and broadcasting systems in Myanmar are controlled by the government. In 2005 the country had 9 telephone mainlines for every 1,000 people; most of the telephones were in Yangon. There were 65 radio receivers and 7 television sets for every 1,000 inhabitants. There is one government TV channel.

VI

Government

Myanmar was governed according to the provisions of the constitution of 1948 until the coup d’état of 1962, after which the existing form of government was eradicated. In 1974 a new constitution was adopted. This document served as the basis of governmental organization until its suspension after the military coup of September 1988.

The military set up a State Law and Order Restoration Council (SLORC) to rule Myanmar until elections could be held. When the SLORC lost overwhelmingly in elections held in 1990, it delayed turning over government to civilian control until it could write a new constitution. Many winners of that election were arrested; others were invited to join with other delegates selected by the SLORC in a constitutional convention. The convention first met in January 1993 but was adjourned in March 1996 without producing a constitution. The SLORC reconvened the constitutional convention in 2004, and it continued to meet into 2005. Unlike the previous convention, however, it did not include representatives from the country’s main opposition group, the National League for Democracy (NLD).

A

Central Government

The core of Myanmar’s central government is the State Peace and Development Council (SPDC), which was formed in 1997 when the SLORC was dissolved. The SPDC is made up of military men. It is currently headed by Senior General Than Shwe as chairman, who is assisted by a vice chairman, a first secretary, and 18 other members. General Than Shwe and about 30 ministers handle the administrative direction of the government, with responsibility for areas such as agriculture, education, foreign affairs, national planning, and religious affairs. Some ministers and deputy ministers are not from the military. In November 2005 the government began moving government offices from Yangon to a new administrative capital, later named Naypyidaw, in the central part of the country.

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B

Judiciary

The administration of justice is directed by local Law and Order Restoration Councils (LORCs). A chief judge, a five-member supreme court, and an attorney general were appointed by the SLORC after it came to power. The martial law and curfew imposed since the 1988 coup have been lifted in most of the country. Public gatherings of five or more people remain illegal without a special permit.

C

Local Government

The administration of Myanmar is highly centralized, with a chain of command passing from the SLORC to the local LORCs to the village level. The country is organized into seven divisions in the central river valleys and seven states on the hilly borderlands, with large towns organized as separate administrative units.

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