publications

Appendix I: Glossary

Amyotha Hluttaw: Assembly of Nationalities (parliamentary upper house) with 224 members. Of these, 168 will be directly elected from state and division level (12 each) and 56 seats are reserved for Tatmadaw members (one member each from specially designated self-administered zones).

BSPP: Burma Socialist Program Party, the ruling party of Burma from 1974 to 1988, a mass-based movement controlled by the Burmese military. Predecessor of the NUP.

KIO: Kachin Independence Organization, an ethnic minority organization that signed a ceasefire with the central government in 1994 and participated in the National Convention. Its armed wing is the Kachin Independence Army.

Lon Htein: Riot Police, a special unit of the Burmese police force.

MWAF: Myanmar Women’s Affairs Federation, a government-controlled NGO that engages in development work and pro-SPDC propaganda efforts.

MWVA: Myanmar War Veterans’ Association, a veterans’ organization controlled by the SPDC, with over 170,000 members, which engages in development work and pro-SPDC activities.

Na A Pa: SPDC, State Peace and Development Council.

NLD: National League for Democracy, the political party that won the majority of seats and votes in the 1990 parliamentary elections but has never been permitted to form a government.

NMSP: New Mon State Party, an ethnic minority organization that signed a ceasefire with the central government in 1995 and participated in the National Convention until 2005.

NUP: National Unity Party, a.k.a. Ta Sa Nya, the military-backed political party formed after 1988 from the BSPP, and which contested the 1990 elections, coming third in parliamentary seats won.

PSRD: Press Scrutiny and Registration Division, a department of the Ministry of Information that reviews, restricts, and clears all print material published in Burma.

Pyidaungsu Hluttaw: Union Assembly.

Pyithu Hluttaw: People’s Assembly (parliamentary lower house) with 440 members. Of these, 330 members will be directly elected from township-level candidates, and 110 seats are reserved for Tatmadaw members.

RC: Revolutionary Council, the Tatmadaw council that staged a coup d’etat in 1962 and ruled until the BSPP government assumed power in 1974.

Sa Ya Pa: Military Affairs Security (MAS), the Tatmadaw intelligence wing created in late 2004 following the purge of the Department of Defense Services Intelligence (DDSI) and its then leader, Prime Minister Khin Nyunt.

Sangha: Buddhist monkhood.

SB: Special Branch, the investigative and intelligence department of the police force that is often involved in arbitrary arrests against perceived political opponents.

SLORC: State Law and Order Restoration Council (in Burmese Na Wa Ta) a military ruling council that seized power in September 1988 and ruled until November 1997, when it was renamed the SPDC.

SNLD: Shan Nationalities League for Democracy, a Shan political party that won the second highest number of seats in the 1990 election, and whose leaders were arrested in 2005 and sentenced to prison terms of over 90 years for alleged sedition.

Swan Arr Shin: “Masters of Force,” a government-controlled militia formed to harass and intimidate opposition political parties and protestors and curb perceived anti-SPDC activities. The militia has been linked to attacks on grassroots human rights defenders and political opposition figures.

Ta Sa Nya: See NUP.

Tatmadaw: Burmese armed forces, inclusive of the Tatmadaw Kyi (Army), Tatmadaw Ye (Navy), and Tatmadaw Lay (Air Force).

USDA: Union Solidarity and Development Association, a government-formed and -controlled “social welfare” organization with 24 million members, many of whom are coerced into joining. Members of the paramilitary wing of the USDA have been responsible for attacks on Aung San Suu Kyi and other opposition politicians since 1997.

UWSP/A: United Wa State Party/Army, the largest ethnic minority group that signed a ceasefire with the central government in 1989.

Ya Ya Ka: Village-/Ward-level Peace and Development Council (V/W-PDC).