Karen Nationalist Communities: The "Problem" of Diversity‪.‬

Introduction: What's in a Name? The Signification of "Burma" and "Myanmar" In June 1989 the State Law and Order Restoration Council (SLORC) re-named the state Myanmar Naing-ngan. At the same time, a number of other place names were changed--for example, Rangoon became Yangon, Pegu became Bago, Moulmein became Mawlamyine. In some cases, these changes represented a "Burmanization" of indigenous names; in others, the new word more closely resembled local pronunciation than had the old colonial-era romanization (South 2005). The terms "Burma" and "Myanmar" are understood and used quite differently among Karen (and other) communities in and from the country. The use of "Burma" generally signifies a rejection of the present military government's legitimacy. Most opposition groups, including the National League for Democracy (NLD) and a wide range of ethnic nationalist organizations--and also the British and US governments--therefore still use the colonial-era name for the country, in their English language pronouncements. To talk of "Myanmar" on the Thailand border is to invite categorization as an apologist for the military government.