MyanmarコミュのAustralia may recognise Burma name change

TO Burma or not to Burma? That is the question for Foreign Minister Kevin Rudd, who has signalled Australia may finally recognise the South-East Asian nation's name change to Myanmar.
Burma's military rulers announced the switch way back in 1989 but while the United Nations and many countries accepted the change, Australia, the US and the UK did not.

But with hopes high that the country's current democratic reform process is genuine, Mr Rudd says that might change.

"We will continue to monitor that and try to conform with the appropriate national and international practice," Mr Rudd told Radio Australia today.

"As you know, this is a hotly contested question.

"Our general practice is to refer to the country as Burma in the international debate and Myanmar when we are within the country with respect to the wishes of the government.
"But let us review international practice on this and we'll maintain an open mind."

Mr Rudd has also foreshadowed intentions to return to Burma in the coming months. Last June, Mr Rudd became the first Western foreign minister to visit the country in many years.

"I will probably seek to go in again to look at the progress in our development assistance cooperation, look at what we can now do with Australian firms in Burma in order to boost economic activity within the country," he said.

"And on top of that, review progress, not just with (opposition leader and leading democracy champion) Aung San Suu Kyi, but also with other leaders of the democratic parties."

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[1] mixiユーザー 02月04日 01:59

Is it 'Burma' or 'Myanmar'? US officials start shifting.
Sen. John McCain arrives Sunday with other US officials in Myanmar. Or is it Burma?

Burma or Myanmar? As the country's military-backed government races headlong into reforms aimed at ending its long international isolation, US officials are changing their tone. For starters, they are beginning to use the government's preferred name for the country, "Myanmar," after two decades of sticking with "Burma."

“We have visited the Philippines, Vietnam, we are here, we are going to Myanmar tomorrow morning,” said Sen. John McCain, opening a press conference given by four US senators for journalists in Bangkok on Saturday afternoon.

It may seem like a small point, but in the subtle world of diplomacy this is heady stuff. It would seem to signal US recognition of the changes afoot in Myanmar and a willingness to work with a regime it has shunned for decades.

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