Myanmar (Burma)

Myanmar, also known as Burma, was long considered a pariah state while under the rule of an oppressive military junta from 1962 to 2011.

The generals who ran the country suppressed almost all dissent and stood accused of gross human rights abuses, prompting international condemnation and sanctions.

A gradual liberalisation began in 2010, leading to free elections in 2015 and the installation of a government led by veteran opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi the following year.

But an army operation against alleged terrorists in Rakhine State since August 2017 has driven more than half a million Muslim Rohingyas to flee to neighbouring Bangladesh, in what the United Nations called a "textbook example of ethnic cleansing".

It damaged the new government's international reputation, and highlighted the continuing grip of the military in Myanmar.

Source: https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-pacific-12990563