Officially, the country is called Myanmar but according to the people in Washington, the country is still classified as Burma and the choice is very political like everything about the nation itself.
Agencies
2/5
Ethnic Burmese
The country was called Burma after the people - the Burmese, the ethnic majority in the nation - but was changed to Myanmar in 1989 by the ruling junta.
Agencies
3/5
Why change?
The reasoning for the change was always played as an attempt to escape the trappings of a colonial past in favour of ethnic unity. But that didn’t really work, with everyone still using Burma in defiance of the military leadership.
Agencies
4/5
On & Off democracy
Myanmar has been struggling to establish a democracy for years now, with popular leader Ann Sang Suu Kyi at the forefront of that fight, even managing to establish rule and conduct voting, gaining a sliver of acceptance, internationally, only for all of it to come crashing down in February 2021 with a military coup.
Reuters
5/5
Back to square one?
The coup means all the goodwill the country gained has been lost, with President Joe Biden threatening sanctions on the country and pointedly referring to it as Burma and not Myanmar, a clear defiance of the military rule.
