Now, with all the strife and trouble going on in what is now called Myanmar, I felt it necessary to point out that those who call this nation Myanmar are those who support the current ruling junta. However, those who don't support or recognize the legitimacy of the ruling junta still refer to the nation as Burma (granted, as is always the case, it is considerably more complicated than that, but this might help the confusion in geographic nomenclature).
Why am I explaining this?
Because, not one single news source I've seen all week has explained this, and it's been driving me a little batty. They are using the names interchangeably, and it's a bit baffling. Technically, it should be referred to as Myanmar since the junta is ruling the nation, but the people getting gunned down are dying for Burma.
Plus, a friend asked me earlier to explain my feelings on what is going on in Myanmar, and when I referred to it as Burma, she thought I was talking about a whole other country on an entirely different part of the globe. And, since she is generally a bright person, I figured there's a pretty good chance that she's not the only one out there with this sort of confusion.
Hope that helps.
-DP
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Posted By Dan to The Wisdom of a Distracted Mind at 9/28/2007 12:15:00 PM
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Actually, it does, so thanks. I hate when newscasters and newspaper articles and such jump into the middle of something, as if on page 24, without even rehashing a sentence or two that actually explains it. (I have occasionally referred to The Kids Post section of my local paper, as they expect to have to explain things to kids. Um, why not adults, also, once in a while?) Anyway, I didn't know, so thanks.
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