Ndtyjky

Union of Myanmar .mw-parser-output .script-myanmar{font-family:"Myanmar Text",Myanmar3,Myanmar2,Myanmar1,Padauk,"Noto Sans Myanmar",mm3web,TharLon,"Masterpiece Uni Sans",Parabaik,Yunghkio,Thanlwin,"Win Uni Innwa","MyMyanmar Unicode","WinUni Innwa"} ပြည်ထောင်စု မြန်မာနိုင်ငံတော်‌ Pyidaunzu Myăma Nainngandaw
1988–2011
Flag Coat of arms
Anthem: Kaba Ma Kyei Till the End of the World
Capital	Rangoon (1988–2006) Naypyidaw (2006–2011)
Common languages	Burmese
Religion	Buddhism
Government	Military junta
Chairman
• 1988–1992	Saw Maung
• 1992–2011	Than Shwe
Vice-Chairman
• 1988–1992	Than Shwe
• 1992–2011	Maung Aye
Prime Minister
• 1988–1992	Saw Maung
• 1992–2003	Than Shwe
• 2003–2004	Khin Nyunt
• 2004–2007	Soe Win
• 2007–2011	Thein Sein
Historical era	Cold War
• 8888 Uprising	18 September 1988
• House arrest of Aung San Suu Kyi	20 July 1989
• Saffron Revolution	15 August 2007
• Renamed to the Republic of the Union of Myanmar	10 May 2008
• Elections	7 November 2010
• Aung San Suu Kyi released	13 November 2010
• SPDC dissolved	30 March 2011
Area
1988	676,578 km2 (261,228 sq mi)
Currency	Kyat
Calling code	95
ISO 3166 code	MM
Preceded by Succeeded by Socialist Republic of the Union of Burma Myanmar
Today part of	Myanmar

This article contains Burmese script. Without proper rendering support, you may see question marks, boxes, or other symbols instead of Burmese script.

Myanmar
This article is part of a series on the politics and government of Myanmar
Constitution Constitutional Tribunal Chairman: Myo Nyunt
Government President (list) Win Myint State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi Vice Presidents Myint Swe (First) Henry Van Thio (Second) Cabinet
Assembly of the Union House of Nationalities House of Representatives Opposition Political parties USDP NLD SNDP NUP NDF RNDP
Supreme Court Chief Justice Htun Htun Oo
Recent elections General: 2010 2015
Administrative divisions States · Regions · Union Territories Self-Administered Zones and Divisions Districts Townships
Foreign relations Ministry of Foreign Affairs Minister: Aung San Suu Kyi Ministry of International Cooperation Minister:Kyaw Tin Diplomatic missions of / in Myanmar Passport Visa requirements Visa policy
Related topics Human rights National Human Rights Commission Naming issues Prime Minister (1948–2011)
Myanmar portal Other countries Atlas
v t e

The State Peace and Development Council (Burmese: နိုင်ငံတော် အေးချမ်းသာယာရေး နှင့် ဖွံ့ဖြိုးရေး ကောင်စီ [nàɪɴŋàɴdɔ̀ ʔédʑáɴθàjajé n̥ḭɴ pʰʊ̰ɴbjó jé kaʊ̀ɴsì];
abbreviated to SPDC or နအဖ, [na̰ʔa̰pʰa̰]) was the official name of the military government of Burma, which seized power under the rule of Saw Maung in 1988. On 30 March 2011, Senior General and Council Chairman Than Shwe signed a decree that officially dissolved the Council.^[1]

From 1988 to 1997, the SPDC was known as State Law and Order Restoration Council (SLORC), which had replaced the role of Burma Socialist Programme Party (BSPP).^[2] In 1997, SLORC was abolished and reconstituted as the State Peace and Development Council (SPDC). The powerful regional military commanders, who were members of SLORC, were promoted to new positions and transferred to the capital of Rangoon (now Yangon). The new regional military commanders were not included in the membership of the SPDC.

The SPDC consisted of eleven senior military officers. The members of the junta^[3] wielded a great deal more power than the cabinet ministers, who were either more-junior military officers or civilians. The exception was the Defence Ministry portfolio, which was in the hands of junta leader Than Shwe himself. On 15 September 1993, it established the Union Solidarity and Development Association which was replaced by Union Solidarity and Development Party in 29 March 2010 in time for the elections.

Although the regime retreated from the totalitarian Burmese Way to Socialism of BSPP when it took power in 1988, the regime was widely accused of human rights abuses. It rejected the 1990 election results and kept Aung San Suu Kyi under house arrest until her release on 13 November 2010.^[4] The council was officially dissolved on 30 March 2011, with the inauguration of the newly elected government, led by its former member and Prime Minister, President Thein Sein.^[5]

History

SPDC members greet Thai PM Abhisit Vejjajiva in an October 2010 visit to Naypyidaw.

SPDC members with Thai delegation in an October 2010 visit to Naypyidaw.

SLORC was formed when the Burmese Armed Forces, commanded by General Saw Maung (later self-promoted to 'Senior General' Saw Maung, died July 1997), seized power on 18 September 1988 crushing the 'Four Eights Uprising'. On the day it seized power SLORC issued Order No.1/1988 stating that the Armed Forces had taken over power and announced the formation of the SLORC. With Order No. 2/1988, the SLORC abolished all 'Organs of State Power' that were formed under the 1974 Burmese constitution. The Pyithu Hluttaw (the legislature under the 1974 Constitution), the Council of Ministers (the Cabinet), the Council of People's Justices (the Judiciary), the Council of People's Attorneys (the 'Attorney-General Office'), the Council of People's Inspectors (the 'Auditor-General Office'), as well as the State/Region, Township, Ward/Village People's Councils were abolished.

The SLORC also stated that the services of the Deputy Ministers in the previous Burma Socialist Programme Party (BSPP) government which it replaced were also terminated. (Under the 1974 Burmese Constitution the 'Council of Ministers' acted as a Cabinet but since the Deputy Ministers were not considered to be formally part of the Council of Ministers, the SLORC made sure that the Deputy Ministers – together with the Ministers' – services in the previous BSPP government from whom it had taken over power were also terminated.) The Orders that SLORC issued on the day of its takeover can be seen in the 19 September 1988 issue of The Working People's Daily. The first Chairman of SLORC was General Saw Maung, later Senior General, who was also the Prime Minister. He was removed as both Chairman of SLORC and Prime Minister on 23 April 1992 when General Than Shwe, later Senior General, took over both posts from him.

On 15 November 1997, SLORC was abolished and reconstituted as the State Peace and Development Council (SPDC). Most but not all members of the abolished SLORC were in the SPDC military regime.

Leadership

Chairmen

Chairman			Term of office			Political party
No.	Portrait	Name (Born–Died)	Took office	Left office	Duration
1		Senior General Saw Maung (1928–1997)	18 September 1988	23 April 1992	3 years, 218 days	Military
2		Senior General Than Shwe (b. 1933)	23 April 1992	30 March 2011	18 years, 341 days	Military

Vice Chairmen

Vice-Chairman			Term of office			Political party
No.	Portrait	Name (Born–Died)	Took office	Left office	Duration
1		General Than Shwe (b. 1933)	18 September 1988	23 April 1992	3 years, 218 days	Military
2		Vice-Senior General Maung Aye (b. 1937)	July 1993	30 March 2011	17 years, 8 months	Military

Former members

Ordered by protocol:

• Senior General Than Shwe, Chairman of the SPDC, Commander-in-Chief of Defence Services
  


• Vice Senior General Maung Aye, Deputy Chairman of the SPDC, Deputy Commander-in-Chief of Defence Services, Commander-in-Chief of the Army


• Retired General Thura U Shwe Mann, Former Joint Chief of Staff of the Army, Navy and Air Force


• Retired General U Thein Sein, Prime Minister and former President
  


• Retired General U Thiha Thura Tin Aung Myint Oo, Secretary-1 of the SPDC, Former Quartermaster General and ex-Vice-President
  


• Major-General Ohn Myint, Chief of Bureau of Special Operation – 1 (Kachin State, Mandalay Region, Chin State, Sagaing Region)


• Lieutenant-General Min Aung Hlaing, Chief of Bureau of Special Operation – 2 (Shan State, Kayah State)


• Lieutenant-General Ko Ko, Chief of Bureau of Special Operation – 3 (Bago Region, Ayeyarwady Region)


• Lieutenant-General Tha Aye, Chief of Bureau of Special Operation – 4 (Karen State, Mon State, Tanintharyi Region)


• Lieutenant-General Myint Swe, Chief of Bureau of Special Operation – 5 (Yangon Region)


• Lieutenant-General Khin Zaw, Chief of Bureau of Special Operation −6 (Magwe Region, Rakhine State)


• Major-General Hla Htay Win, Chief of Armed Forces Training
  


• Retired Lieutenant-General U Tin Aye, Former Chief of Military Ordnance, Current Head of Election Council^[6]
  


• Lieutenant-General Thura Myint Aung, Adjutant General
  

Human rights abuses

Western non-governmental organisations, such as the Burma Campaign UK, the US Campaign for Burma, Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch have made a variety of serious accusations against the SPDC. Reports by these organisations as well as the United Nations and the Karen Human Rights Group alleged gross human rights abuses that took place in Burma under their regime, including:

• Murder and arbitrary executions


• Torture and rape


• Recruitment of child soldiers


• Forced relocations


• Forced labour


• Political imprisonment

Murder

History of Myanmar
Prehistory of Myanmar 11,000–200 BCE Pyu city-states 200 BCE – 1050 CE (Sri Ksetra Kingdom, Tagaung Kingdom) Mon kingdoms 825?–1057 Arakanese kingdoms 788?–1406
Pagan Kingdom 849–1297 Early Pagan Kingdom 849–1044 Warring states period Upper Burma 1297–1555 Myinsaing and Pinya Kingdoms 1297–1364 Sagaing Kingdom 1315–1364 Kingdom of Ava 1364–1555 Prome Kingdom 1482–1542 Hanthawaddy Kingdom 1287–1539, 1550–1552 Shan States 1215–1563 Kingdom of Mrauk U 1429–1785 Toungoo dynasty 1510–1752 First Toungoo Empire 1510–1599 Nyaungyan Restoration 1599–1752 Restored Hanthawaddy 1740–1757 Konbaung dynasty 1752–1885
British colonial period 1824–1948 Anglo-Burmese Wars 1824–1885 Nationalist movement 1900–1948 Japanese occupation 1942–1945
Modern era 1948–present Union of Burma 1948–1962 Socialist Republic 1962–1988 Union of Myanmar 1988–2010 Political reforms 2011–2015
Timeline List of capitals Leaders Royal chronicles Military history
v t e

One of the worst atrocities in Burma took place during the uprising of August 1988, when millions of Burmese marched throughout the country calling for an end to military rule. Soldiers shot hundreds of protesters and killed an estimated 3,000 people in the following weeks. During the August and September demonstrations of 2007, at least 184 protesters were shot and killed and many were tortured. Under the SPDC, the Burmese army engaged in military offensives against ethnic minority populations, committing acts that violated international humanitarian law.^[7]

Recruitment of child soldiers

It has been alleged that the SPDC forcibly recruited children – some as young as 10 – to serve in its army, the Tatmadaw. It is difficult to estimate the number of child soldiers currently serving in the Burmese army, but there are thousands, according to Human Rights Watch [1] [2] [3] the Child Soldiers Global Report 2008 [4] and Amnesty International.^{[citation needed]}

The UN Secretary-General named the SPDC in four consecutive reports for violating international standards prohibiting the recruitment and use of child soldiers.

Children and Armed Conflict, Report of the Secretary-General, 26 October 2006 UN Doc. A/61/529 S2006/826.
[5]

Report of the Secretary-General on children and armed conflict in
Myanmar to the Security Council, 16 November 2007, UN Doc. S/2007/666.[6]

Report of the Secretary-General on Children and armed conflict to the UN Security Council, 21 December 2007, UN Doc. A/62/609-S/2007/757.
[7]

Report of the Secretary-General on children and armed
conflict in Myanmar 1 June 2009 UN Doc. S/2009/278 [8]

Forced relocations

Human Rights Watch reported [9] that since Cyclone Nargis in May 2008, the Burmese authorities expelled hundreds, if not thousands, of displaced persons from schools, monasteries, and public buildings, and encouraged them to return to their destroyed villages in the Irrawaddy Delta. The authorities emptied some public buildings and schools to use as polling stations for the 24 May referendum on a new constitution, despite pleas from United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon to postpone the referendum and focus their resources on humanitarian relief. The SPDC was alleged to have evicted people from dozens of government-operated tented relief camps in the vicinity of the former capital Yangon, ordering the residents to return to their homes, regardless of the conditions they face.

The forced evictions were part of government efforts to demonstrate that the emergency relief period was over and that the affected population were capable of rebuilding their lives without foreign aid. People who were forced from their homes by Cyclone Nargis are considered to be internally displaced persons under international law. Under the UN Guiding Principles on Internal Displacement, the Burmese government was urged to ensure the right of "internally displaced persons to return voluntarily, in safety and with dignity, to their homes or places of habitual residence, or to resettle voluntarily in another part of the country."

Forced labour

According to the International Labour Organization (ILO), despite the new quasi-civilian government taking power in Burma, forced labour continues to be widespread in Burma. It is imposed mainly by the military, for 'portering' (that is, carrying of provisions to remote bases, or on military operations), road construction, camp construction and repair, and for a range of other tasks. In March 1997, the European Union withdrew Burma's trade privileges because of the prevalence of forced labour and other abuses. The same year, the ILO established a Commission of Inquiry to look into allegations of forced labour, coming up with a damning report the following year.

In November 2006, the International Labour Organization (ILO) announced it was to seek at the International Criminal Court^[8] "to prosecute members of the ruling Myanmar junta for crimes against humanity" over the allegations of forced labour of its citizens by the military. According to the ILO, an estimated 800,000 people are subject to forced labour in Burma.^[9]

Political imprisonment

Even before the large-scale demonstrations began in August 2007, the authorities arrested many well-known opponents of the government on political grounds, several of whom had only been released from prison several months earlier. Before the 25–29 September crackdown, more arrests of members of the opposition party National League for Democracy (NLD) took place, which critics say was a pre-emptive measure before the crackdown.

Mass round-ups occurred during the crackdown itself, and the authorities continued to arrest protesters and supporters throughout 2007. Between 3,000 and 4,000 political prisoners were detained, including children and pregnant women, 700 of whom were believed still in detention at year's end. At least 20 were charged and sentenced under anti-terrorism legislation in proceedings which did not meet international fair trial standards. Detainees and defendants were denied the right to legal counsel.^[10]

References

External links

• Myanmar.gov: Official State Peace And Development Council−SPDC website


• Myanmar.com: another official SPDC website


• Irrawaddy.org: Members of State Peace and Development Council (SPDC)


• Burma Campaign UK