Background:
Britain conquered Burma over a period of 62 years (1824-1886) and
incorporated it into its Indian Empire. Burma was administered as a
province of India until 1937 when it became a separate,
self-governing colony; independence outside of the Commonwealth was
attained in 1948. Gen. NE WIN dominated the government from 1962 to
1988, first as military ruler, then as president, and later as
political kingmaker. Despite multiparty elections in 1990 that
resulted in the main opposition party winning a decisive victory,
the ruling military junta refused to hand over power. Key opposition
leader and Nobel Peace Prize recipient AUNG SAN SUU KYI, under house
arrest from 1989 to 1995, was again placed under house detention
from September 2000 to May 2002 and again in May 2003; her
supporters are routinely harassed or jailed.
Geography Burma
Location:
Southeastern Asia, bordering the Andaman Sea and the Bay of Bengal,
between Bangladesh and Thailand
Geographic coordinates:
22 00 N, 98 00 E
Map references:
Southeast Asia
Area:
total: 678,500 sq km
land: 657,740 sq km
water: 20,760 sq km
Area - comparative:
slightly smaller than Texas
Land boundaries:
total: 5,876 km
border countries: Bangladesh 193 km, China 2,185 km, India 1,463 km,
Laos 235 km, Thailand 1,800 km
Coastline:
1,930 km
Maritime claims:
contiguous zone: 24 NM
territorial sea: 12 NM
continental shelf: 200 NM or to the edge of the continental margin
exclusive economic zone: 200 NM