The beginning of the 1950s saw the country quickly dissolve into civil war with insurgencies by most ethnic groups and the communists.
Throughout the 50s a fledgling democracy under U Nu managed to maintain some control of the situation. However, a military coup in 1962 brought to power General Ne Win. His answer to Burma's problems was the rigid system knows as The Burmese Way to Socialism. This was an effort to create a self-sufficient Burmese state free from dependence on capitalism or communism.This led to the ruin of the economy [rice exports fell from 1.7 m tonnes a year to 170,000 tonnes over a ten year period] and the imposition of tight controls on freedom of speech and political activity.
1988 Uprising
The ethnic and communist insurgencies had continued for some years but in 1988 there was a mass uprising led by student groups.This was brutally surpressed with the deaths of over 10,000 civilians [Burma Watch International] .
Following the uprising General Saw Maung staged another 'military coup' bringing to power the State law and Order Restoration Council [SLORC]. This body [with a rather Orwellian name] imposed martial law.
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The Four Cuts and the Karen People
During the 1990s the military managed to negotiate cease fire agreements with a number of insurgent groups promising them economic benefits if they did so. For example, the Wa agreed to a ceasefire and benefited from their increased control over the narcotics trade in their area. The Karen have continued to fight and have been subjected to an offensive known as the Four Cuts, where the intention is to cut them off from supplies, recruits, intelligence and funding. Villagers are forcibly relocated and cases of forced porterage, muder and rape are well documented by Amnesty International and the UNHuman Rights Committee. These abuses continue to this day.
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