Covers the 27 January 1947 Aung San-Attlee Agreement, the 12 February 1947 Panglong Agreement, the Burma Independence Act, 1947 and its effect on 4 January 1948, and Burma's UN admission on 19 April 1948. It does not cover the Japanese occupation during the Second World War or Burma's subsequent political history.
On 27 January 1947, Prime Minister Clement Attlee and Aung San signed an agreement promising Burmese independence within one year and requiring the free consent of the Frontier Areas' inhabitants for unification with Ministerial Burma.[1] On 12 February 1947, Aung San and representatives of the Shan, Kachin and Chin communities signed the Panglong Agreement at Panglong, recognising full autonomy for the Shan and Karenni areas and autonomous status for the Kachin and Chin areas.[2] The Burma Independence Act, 1947, enacted by the UK Parliament and given Royal Assent on 10 December 1947, established Burma as "an independent country, neither forming part of His Majesty's dominions nor entitled to His Majesty's protection," with effect from 4 January 1948, "the appointed day."[3] Unlike most other former British territories, Burma did not join the Commonwealth. The Union of Burma was admitted to the United Nations on 19 April 1948, following a unanimous Security Council recommendation nine days earlier.[4][5]
Status verified as of
Myanmar (Burma) has been an independent, UN-member state since 1948.[5]
History
From the Burma Independence Act, 1947 to independence on 4 January 1948 and UN admission that April.
182 words · 1 min read
· Agreement
Prime Minister Clement Attlee and Aung San signed an agreement on 27 January 1947 promising Burmese independence within one year and providing that unification of the Frontier Areas with Ministerial Burma required the free consent of the inhabitants.
Significance here: The agreement that set a timetable for Burmese independence and the terms for the Frontier Areas' unification.
· Agreement
Aung San and representatives of the Shan, Kachin and Chin communities signed the Panglong Agreement on 12 February 1947, recognising full autonomy for the Shan and Karenni areas and autonomous status for the Kachin and Chin areas.
Significance here: The agreement setting the terms on which the Frontier Areas' ethnic communities would join a unified, independent Burma.
· Declaration
The Burma Independence Act, 1947 established Burma as an independent country, outside the British Commonwealth, with effect from 4 January 1948.
Significance here: The Act that ended British rule and established Burma as fully independent, uniquely opting to leave the Commonwealth.
· Recognition
The Security Council unanimously recommended the Union of Burma's admission to the United Nations on 10 April 1948, and the General Assembly admitted it on 19 April 1948.
Significance here: Formal international recognition of Burmese statehood shortly after independence.
Each number marks a specific claim. Notes give the source, its locator and how it relates to the claim.
Claim: On 27 January 1947, British Prime Minister Clement Attlee and Aung San signed an agreement, on behalf of the United Kingdom and Burma respectively, promising Burmese independence within one year and providing that unification of the Frontier Areas with Ministerial Burma into a single independent country would occur only with the free consent of the inhabitants of those areas.
Claim: On 12 February 1947, at Panglong in the Shan States, Aung San signed an agreement with representatives of the Shan, Kachin and Chin communities recognising full autonomy in internal administration for the Shan and Karenni areas and autonomous status for the Kachin and Chin areas within the planned Union of Burma.
Claim: The Burma Independence Act, 1947, given Royal Assent on 10 December 1947, provided in Section 1(1): "On the appointed day, Burma shall become an independent country, neither forming part of His Majesty's dominions nor entitled to His Majesty's protection." Section 1(2) defined "the appointed day" as "the fourth day of January, nineteen hundred and forty-eight." Section 1(3) provided that British suzerainty over the Karenni States, and all associated treaties and obligations, would lapse from the same date.
Claim: On 10 April 1948, at its 279th meeting, the Security Council, having taken note of the unanimous approval of its members of the application of the Union of Burma, recommended to the General Assembly that Burma be admitted to UN membership; the vote was 10 in favour to none against, with Argentina abstaining.
Claim: The General Assembly, at its 131st plenary meeting on 19 April 1948, took note of Burma's application and the Security Council's recommendation, and "decides to admit the Union of Burma as a Member of the United Nations."