Myanmar (Burma until May 26, 1989) is a republic of Southeast Asia with coastlines on the Bay of Bengal and the Andaman Sea. Area: 676,577 sq km (261,228 sq mi). Pop. (1993 est.): 44,613,000. Cap.: Yangon (Rangoon). Monetary unit: kyat, with (Oct. 4, 1993) a free rate of 6.25 kyats to U.S. $1 (9.48 kyats = £ 1 sterling). Chairman of the State Law and Order Restoration Council in 1993, Gen. Than Shwe.
Myanmar’s ruling military junta in 1993 ignored calls from the U.S., the European Community, the UN, and Australia to release pro-democracy leader and Nobel Peace Prize winner Aung San Suu Kyi. Instead, they extended her house arrest on July 20 for a fifth year. They did, however, allow a visit with her British husband, Michael Aris. In January the junta opened a constitutional convention of 700 delegates, mostly chosen by the junta. The delegates promised to usher in multiparty democracy, but they also approved measures that would allow the military to participate actively in government and to take over in emergencies. In principle, at least, there would be an executive president chosen by an electoral college, a two-chamber parliament, and power sharing between the central government and 14 regional governments. Freedom of expression and worship also would be guaranteed. Observers, however, viewed the entire process as a sham because the military had jailed or otherwise barred key victors in the 1990 election from taking part in the constituent assembly.
Amnesty International reported that more than 40 people had been arrested for political reasons in 1993. It urged the immediate release of two dissidents sentenced in October to long prison terms for their political activities. Ma Thida, a novelist, and Aung Khin Sint, a convention delegate, were named "prisoners of conscience" by Amnesty International, which already had given the designation to Suu Kyi. In May Foreign Minister U Ohn Gyaw had criticized the West for trying to impose its human rights standards on Myanmar and for not helping to stem the production of illegal drugs. The country’s minister for national planning and economic development said his country could not effectively eradicate poppy growing and crack down on drug manufacturing without foreign assistance.
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