<P> The SPDC had been responsible for the displacement of several hundred thousand citizens, both inside and outside of Burma . The Karen, Karenni, and Mon ethnic groups have been forced to seek asylum in neighbouring Thailand, where they are also abused by an unfriendly and unsympathetic government . These groups are perhaps more fortunate than the Wa and Shan ethnic groups who have become Internally Displaced Peoples in their own state since being removed from lands by the military junta in 2000 . There are reportedly 600,000 of these Internally Displaced Peoples living in Burma today . Many are trying to escape forced labour in the military or for one of the many state - sponsored drug cartels . This displacement of peoples has led to both human rights violations as well as the exploitation of minority ethnic groups at the hands of the dominant Burman group . The primary actors in these ethnic struggles include but are not limited to the Government of Burma (junta), the Karen National Union and the Mong Tai Army . </P> <P> On 4 January 1948, Burma achieved independence from Britain, and became a democracy based on the parliamentary system . </P> <P> On 19 July 1947, Aung San became Deputy Chairman of the Executive Council of Burma, a transitional government . But in July 1947, political rivals assassinated Aung San and several cabinet members . On 4 January 1948, the nation became an independent republic, named the Union of Burma, with Sao Shwe Thaik as its first President and U Nu as its first Prime Minister . Unlike most other former British colonies, it did not become a member of the Commonwealth . A bicameral parliament was formed, consisting of a Chamber of Deputies and a Chamber of Nationalities . The geographical area Burma encompasses today can be traced to the Panglong Agreement, which combined Burma proper, which consisted of Lower Burma and Upper Burma, and the Frontier Areas, which had been administered separately by the British . </P> <P> In 1961, U Thant, Burma's Permanent Representative to the United Nations and former Secretary to the Prime Minister, was elected Secretary - General of the United Nations; he was the first non-Westerner to head any international organisation and would serve as UN Secretary - General for ten years . Among the Burmese to work at the UN when he was Secretary - General was a young Aung San Suu Kyi . </P>

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