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              Burmese Government Demands Opposition Use 'Myanmar'

   by VOA News

   The nominally civilian Burmese government is demanding that democracy
   icon and opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi stop referring to the
   country as "Burma," the colonial name still used by dissidents and many
   foreign governments.
   In a terse statement Friday published by state-controlled media, the
   Union Election Commission called on the Nobel laureate's National
   League for Democracy party to call the country the "Republic of the
   Union of Myanmar."
   That name was adopted more than two decades ago by the military junta
   that ruled the country until last year. The name "Myanmar" was also
   enshrined in the country's 2008 constitution, which was written under
   junta supervision.
   Aung San Suu Kyi and the NLD party have vigorously opposed the name
   change, with officials arguing that the country has for centuries been
   referred to as Burma in English. NLD legal adviser Nyan Win said that
   English-language references to "Burma" are not against the law.

   Nyan Win noted the Burmese-language version of the constitution does
   call the country Myanmar, but the English version does not.
   The NLD adviser said the existing English-language constitution is not
   an "authentic translation." As he put it, "We don't even know who
   translated it into English."
   Another senior NLD official, Win Tin, was more blunt.
   He said the official warning shows that Burma's government "is just
   trying to restrict ... and harass" the National League for Democracy.
   Aung San Suu Kyi has not commented on the warning. She was scheduled to
   return home late Friday from a two-week tour of Europe, where she
   frequently referred to her homeland as Burma while speaking in English.
   Global leaders remain split on the name controversy, which is gaining
   strength as Burma begins implementing democratic reforms while emerging
   from decades of diplomatic and economic isolation.
   U.S. officials, siding with Aung San Suu Kyi, argue that the name
   Myanmar was decreed by military rulers and has never been approved
   either by popular referendum or a democratically elected government.
   Former colonial power Britain also refers to the country as Burma.
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   [1]http://www.voanews.com/content/burmese-government-demands-opposition
   -use-myanmar/1351798.html

References

   1. http://www.voanews.com/content/burmese-government-demands-opposition-use-myanmar/1351798.html