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Time To Call It What It Is ...

Myanmar has been much in the news since its November election.

You might be drawing a blank here. Myanmar? That could be because for the past 25 years, our news people have often helpfully added a few words of explanation: “Myanmar, formerly known as Burma.” Ah yes, that Myanmar.

Why, you might ask, do we need this help?

Is this because the news media think we're too dimwitted to make the transition? After all, we don't say Thailand, formerly known as Siam. Or Iran, formerly known as Persia.

It probably won't surprise anyone to learn that the reason is political. Burma became a British colony in 1824 and gained independence in 1948. At ?rst it had a democratic government, but this ended in 1962 when the military took over. After a bloody uprising in 1989, the military gave Burma its new name. Myanmar and Burma are actually versions of the same word, with Myanmar a more formal version of Burma -- a break from the colonial past.

The November election was the ?rst in 25 years. The overwhelming winner was the National League for Democracy, whose leader is Nobel Prize-winner Aung San Suu Kyi. The election went well, and the generals are saying they want the country to transition to a civilian government.

This sounds promising, although I doubt anyone would say that Myanmar has a perfect government, fair to all its citizens. But really, what country can make that claim?

Perhaps it's time to call Myanmar ... just Myanmar.

I'm Deborah Booth, and that's my perspective.

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