ABSTRACT

On the social level, the principal effort after independence was to bring about better cohesion through integration of the diverse ethnic units. In mid-1988, Myanmar passed through its most tumultuous phase since the country's independence. The prime concern of Myanmar's foreign policy since independence has been maintaining cordial relations with its major neighbors, China and India. After 1990 Aung San Suu Kyi and the military were in a seemingly intractable confrontation as she emerged as the symbol of Myanmar's struggle for democracy and the greatest threat to the military's claim to power. Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan of the United States secured the Senate's approval of a motion requiring the president to report semiannually on the state of human rights and progress in democracy in Myanmar. In October 1991, Suu Kyi was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in recognition of her nonviolent campaign for democracy.