105-404: Sentinel Project may refer to: Sentinel Project for Genocide Prevention Satellite Sentinel Project Sentinel (FBI) Sentinel program Topics referred to by the same term [REDACTED] This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the title Sentinel Project . If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change
210-568: A Chamber of Deputies and a Chamber of Nationalities , and multi-party elections were held in 1951–1952 , 1956 and 1960 . 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. In 1961, U Thant ,
315-489: A military dictatorship under the Burma Socialist Programme Party . On 8 August 1988, the 8888 Uprising then resulted in a nominal transition to a multi-party system two years later, but the country's post-uprising military council refused to cede power, and has continued to rule the country through to the present. The country remains riven by ethnic strife among its myriad ethnic groups and has one of
420-421: A country is declared an SOC during the risk assessment phase. Operational processes are the components of the overall genocidal process which facilitate the extermination of a specific group of people. The goal of OPM is to consistently gather event-based information from media and NGO reports, correspondents on the ground, and contacts within vulnerable communities. A Vulnerability Assessment is also done to examine
525-501: A coup d'état . The coup, which was widely condemned by the international community , led to continuous ongoing widespread protests in Myanmar and has been marked by violent political repression by the military, as well as a larger outbreak of the civil war . The military also arrested Aung San Suu Kyi in order to remove her from public life, and charged her with crimes ranging from corruption to violation of COVID-19 protocols; all of
630-434: A diverse set of backgrounds including Anthropology , Conflict Studies , Communications and Mass Media , History , Political Science , Public Relations , War Crimes Investigation, Military Intelligence and Software Engineering . The organization has 3 main teams: Research, Technology and Operations. The research team conducts the risk assessment process which involves collecting information based on existing research,
735-632: A high threat of genocide against Iran's Baháʼís. These factors include economic stresses, prior persecution of Baháʼís, their exclusion from higher education and ongoing propaganda which links Baháʼís to foreign enemies. The report also identified various official security forces, such as the Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps, and semi-official paramilitary groups, such as the Basij militia , who could potentially or eventually be perpetrators of genocide against Baháʼí. An update to this report
840-603: A legacy of intergroup hatred among other risk factors. Following its initial risk assessment report and with another national election scheduled for December 2012, the Sentinel Project maintained Kenya as a high risk situation of concern and responded by initiating an operational monitoring process to monitor the situation in Kenya as it developed on a daily basis. Through its continued monitoring and evaluation process, in November 2012
945-589: A long vowel: [ˈmjænmɑː, ˈbɜːmə] . So the pronunciation of the last syllable of Myanmar as [mɑːr] by some speakers in the UK and most speakers in North America is in fact a spelling pronunciation based on a misunderstanding of non-rhotic spelling conventions. However, Burma is pronounced [ˈbɜːrmə] by rhotic speakers of English due to a phonotactic constraint, as /ɜː/ occurs only before /r/ in those accents. Archaeological evidence shows that Homo erectus lived in
1050-594: A mandate that focuses on conflict, human rights or genocide and located in the SOC's geographical location. In Kenya , the Sentinel Project has started forming partnerships with two organizations, The Center for Human Rights and Democracy which boasts of a large network of conflict monitors in the Rift Valley and Uchaguzi, a Kenyan-based organization that takes a crowdsourcing approach in mapping indicators of ethnic violence before and during elections . The Sentinel Project
1155-676: A prosperous economy for more than 80 years. From the 1720s onward, the kingdom was beset with repeated Meithei raids into Upper Myanmar and a nagging rebellion in Lan Na. In 1740, the Mon of Lower Myanmar founded the Restored Hanthawaddy Kingdom . Hanthawaddy forces sacked Ava in 1752, ending the 266-year-old Toungoo Dynasty. After the fall of Ava, the Konbaung–Hanthawaddy War involved one resistance group under Alaungpaya defeating
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#17328693450901260-485: A smaller, more manageable kingdom, encompassing Lower Myanmar , Upper Myanmar , Shan states , Lan Na and upper Tenasserim . The restored Toungoo kings created a legal and political framework whose basic features continued well into the 19th century. The crown completely replaced the hereditary chieftainships with appointed governorships in the entire Irrawaddy valley and greatly reduced the hereditary rights of Shan chiefs. Its trade and secular administrative reforms built
1365-463: A stalemate, exchanging Tenasserim (to Burma) and Lan Na (to Ayutthaya). Faced with a powerful China and a resurgent Ayutthaya in the east, King Bodawpaya turned west, acquiring Arakan (1785), Manipur (1814) and Assam (1817). It was the second-largest empire in Burmese history but also one with a long ill-defined border with British India . In 1826, Burma lost Arakan, Manipur , Assam and Tenasserim to
1470-627: A unified state. Aung Zan Wai , Pe Khin, Bo Hmu Aung , Sir Maung Gyi, Sein Mya Maung, Myoma U Than Kywe were among the negotiators of the historic Panglong Conference negotiated with Bamar leader General Aung San and other ethnic leaders in 1947. In 1947, Aung San became Deputy Chairman of the Executive Council of Myanmar, a transitional government. But in July 1947, political rivals assassinated Aung San and several cabinet members. On 4 January 1948,
1575-553: A wide range of sources in real-time: media stories, socioeconomic data, NGO reports, SMS, Twitter, Facebook, Blogs, etc. The project released its first public threat assessment report in May 2009. This report focused on the persecution of the Baháʼí Faith community in Iran. Since then, the group released two other reports on Kenya and Azerbaijan , and is currently working on assessment reports on
1680-464: Is "Republic of the Union of Myanmar" ( Burmese : ပြည်ထောင်စုသမ္မတ မြန်မာနိုင်ငံတော် , Pyihtaungsu Thamada Myanma Naingngantaw , pronounced [pjìdàʊɴzṵ θàɴməda̰ mjəmà nàɪɴŋàɴdɔ̀] ). Countries that do not officially recognise that name use the long form "Union of Burma" instead. In English, the country is popularly known as either Burma or Myanmar . In Burmese, the pronunciation depends on
1785-563: Is a collection of people, tools and processes involved in gathering, analyzing and disseminating information on the risk of genocide. The EWS begins with Research Analyst examining the main characteristics that predispose a country to genocide. Research information is gathered from governmental, NGO, United Nations and academic sources. A list of risk factors is used to create a comprehensive risk profile before initiating active monitoring. Based on Gregory Stanton 's " Eight Stages of Genocide " model, Operational Process Monitoring (OPM) begins when
1890-474: Is a data visualization platform that helps display operational processes within an SOC in the context of genocide threat. The platform presents an interactive display model that allows visitors to its website to be able to view and explore the root causes, relationships and operational processes behind an early warning released by the organization. The Sentinel Project is currently working on making ThreatWiki an open source project and its source code repository
1995-606: Is also a partner with the PAX Project, a technology-based data collection project currently being developed in the United Kingdom with the goal of preventing genocide and mass atrocities by assisting partner NGOs in monitoring the media and other information sources. Myanmar in ASEAN (dark grey) – [ Legend ] Myanmar , officially the Republic of
2100-527: Is among the widest in the world, as a large proportion of the economy is controlled by cronies of the military junta . Myanmar is one of the least developed countries ; as of 2020, according to the Human Development Index , it ranks 147 out of 189 countries in terms of human development , the lowest in Southeast Asia . Since 2021, more than 600,000 people were displaced across Myanmar due to
2205-473: Is an international non-governmental organisation based in Toronto, Ontario , Canada, with approximately 60 members in North America. Its mission is "to prevent the crime of genocide worldwide through effective early warning and cooperation with victimized peoples to carry out non-violent prevention initiatives." The Sentinel Project was founded in 2008 by two students, Taneem Talukdar and Christopher Tuckwood, at
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#17328693450902310-632: Is developing a genocide risk assessment, forecasting and situation monitoring process to monitor vulnerable communities worldwide. Their objective is to systematically collect and assess data using a framework of analysis based on existing genocide research. This framework is used to systematically track "Situations of Concern" (SOCs), release regular forecasts and guide response strategies. Regular threat assessment updates with background analysis on root cause and context are consistently released. The Sentinel Project works with vulnerable communities to develop non-violent strategies and counter-measures to address
2415-479: Is meant to strengthen efforts to prevent genocide from occurring in areas at very high risk. Because many genocidal regimes throughout history have been sensitive to internal and external pressure during their preparation process, the Sentinel Project contends that the sooner the threat of genocide is identified, the more options there are for preventing it. While only military force can stop killing in progress, there are many non-violent options available for disrupting
2520-484: Is now live on GitHub . Research Analysts at the Sentinel Project use ThreatWiki to input data from reliable sources to track SOCs with the help of a visual time-line that enables them to track the SOCs more closely. ThreatWiki shows exactly where events such as arrests , arson , or raids have taken place and the data point is not just a vague point on the map; "we are talking about cities, towns, latitude , and longitude of
2625-519: Is responsible for developing an effective Early Warning System (EWS) to predict and determine the likelihood of genocide occurring in a given SOC, monitors events in SOCs to identify genocidal processes and key actors responsible, and is also responsible for staying up-to-date with current developments in genocide studies. The Technology team is responsible for building the ThreatWiki software platform that enables on-going monitoring and analysis processes and
2730-458: Is standard. Pronunciations with two syllables are found most often in major British and American dictionaries. Dictionaries—such as Collins —and other sources also report pronunciations with three syllables. As John Wells explains, the English spellings of both Myanmar and Burma assume a non-rhotic variety of English , in which the letter r before a consonant or finally serves merely to indicate
2835-522: The Ayutthaya Kingdom , Lan Xang and southern Arakan. However, the largest empire in the history of Southeast Asia unravelled soon after Bayinnaung's death in 1581, completely collapsing by 1599. Ayutthaya seized Tenasserim and Lan Na, and Portuguese mercenaries established Portuguese rule at Thanlyin (Syriam). The dynasty regrouped and defeated the Portuguese in 1613 and Siam in 1614. It restored
2940-711: The Bay of Bengal to its south and southwest. The country's capital city is Naypyidaw , and its largest city is Yangon (formerly Rangoon). Early civilisations in the area included the Tibeto-Burman -speaking Pyu city-states in Upper Myanmar and the Mon kingdoms in Lower Myanmar . In the 9th century, the Bamar people entered the upper Irrawaddy valley, and following the establishment of
3045-481: The Burma Socialist Programme Party (BSPP). During this period, Myanmar became one of the world's most impoverished countries. There were sporadic protests against military rule during the Ne Win years, and these were almost always violently suppressed. On 7 July 1962, the government broke up demonstrations at Rangoon University , killing 15 students. In 1974, the military violently suppressed anti-government protests at
3150-456: The Han Chinese , Wa , and Kachin . During 8–12 August, the first days of the conflict, as many as 10,000 Burmese civilians fled to Yunnan in neighbouring China. Civil wars have been a constant feature of Myanmar's socio-political landscape since the attainment of independence in 1948. These wars are predominantly struggles for ethnic and sub-national autonomy, with the areas surrounding
3255-710: The Lushai Hills , and Manipur as well. The British East India Company seized control of the administration of Myanmar after three Anglo-Burmese Wars in the 19th century, and the country became a British colony . After a brief Japanese occupation , Myanmar was reconquered by the Allies. On 4 January 1948, Myanmar declared independence under the terms of the Burma Independence Act 1947 . Myanmar's post-independence history has been checkered by continuing unrest and conflict to this day. The coup d'état in 1962 resulted in
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3360-642: The Pagan Kingdom in the 1050s, the Burmese language , culture , and Theravada Buddhism slowly became dominant in the country. The Pagan Kingdom fell to Mongol invasions , and several warring states emerged. In the 16th century, reunified by the Taungoo dynasty , the country became the largest empire in the history of Southeast Asia for a short period. The early 19th-century Konbaung dynasty ruled over an area that included modern Myanmar and briefly controlled Assam ,
3465-841: The Rohingya Muslims and the government and non-government groups in Rakhine State ; and a conflict between the Shan , Lahu , and Karen minority groups, and the government in the eastern half of the country. In addition, al-Qaeda signalled an intention to become involved in Myanmar. Armed conflict between ethnic Chinese rebels and the Myanmar Armed Forces resulted in the Kokang offensive in February 2015. The conflict had forced 40,000 to 50,000 civilians to flee their homes and seek shelter on
3570-466: The State Law and Order Restoration Council (SLORC). In 1989, SLORC declared martial law after widespread protests. The military government finalised plans for People's Assembly elections on 31 May 1989. SLORC changed the country's official English name from the "Socialist Republic of the Union of Burma" to the "Union of Myanmar" on 18 June 1989 by enacting the adaptation of the expression law. In May 1990,
3675-550: The Tana River District , where there had been a series of small skirmishes and ethnic massacres which occurred between August 2012 and January 2013. In their Tana Delta Field Survey Report, the team highlighted the drivers of violence and potential preventive measures for decreasing the risk of violence from escalating. Some of the drivers of conflict that the team identified include: misinformation and conflicting accounts of occurring events, unverified reports of arms flows into
3780-620: The USSR in 1991. The ethnic Armenian population in the breakaway region of Nagorno-Karabakh is vulnerable, at risk of violence, and frequently the object of hate speech, sometimes by government officials. Since the 1992–1994 Nagorno-Karabakh War that followed the NKR secession and resulted in the occupation of former Azeri territory bordering the NKR by Armenian forces, more than 600,000 civilians have been displaced from their homes. Although pogroms, violence against civilians, and alleged genocide has occurred in
3885-787: The University of Waterloo . In 2009, the Sentinel Project's approach was selected as a finalist in Google 's 10 to the 100th competition for innovative social application of technology. This organization has been recognized as one of four active anti-genocide organizations based in Canada and is a member of the International Alliance to End Genocide, and the International Coalition for the Responsibility to Protect . The Sentinel Project
3990-447: The military government officially changed the English translations of many names dating back to Burma's colonial period or earlier, including that of the country itself: Burma became Myanmar . The renaming remains a contested issue. Many political and ethnic opposition groups and countries continue to use Burma because they do not recognise the legitimacy or authority of the military government. The country's official full name
4095-612: The register used and is either Bama ( pronounced [bəmà] ) or Myamah ( pronounced [mjəmà] ). Official United States foreign policy retains Burma as the country's name although the State Department 's website lists the country as Burma (Myanmar) . The United Nations uses Myanmar , as does the ASEAN and as do Australia , Russia , Germany , China , India , Bangladesh , Norway , Japan , Switzerland , Canada and Ukraine . Most English-speaking international news media refer to
4200-431: The 1947 Constitution, successive military governments construed the use of the term ' federalism ' as being anti-national, anti-unity and pro-disintegration. On 2 March 1962, the military led by General Ne Win took control of Burma through a coup d'état , and the government had been under direct or indirect control by the military since then. Between 1962 and 1974, Myanmar was ruled by a revolutionary council headed by
4305-574: The 19th century, Burmese rulers sought to maintain their traditional influence in the western areas of Assam, Manipur and Arakan. Pressing them, however, was the British East India Company, which was expanding its interests eastwards over the same territory. Over the next 60 years, diplomacy, raids, treaties and compromises, known collectively as the Anglo-Burmese Wars , continued until Britain proclaimed control over most of Burma. With
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4410-468: The 9th century, several city-states had sprouted across the land: the Pyu in the central dry zone, Mon along the southern coastline and Arakanese along the western littoral. The balance was upset when the Pyu came under repeated attacks from Nanzhao between the 750s and the 830s. In the mid-to-late 9th century the Bamar people founded a small settlement at Bagan . It was one of several competing city-states until
4515-498: The Baháʼís of Iran and an upsurge in executions of Iranians in general. Kenya's recent transition to democracy has seen episodes of large scale violence as different groups compete for power. The 2007 Kenyan post-election period was characterized by severe unrest born out of a political and social order marked by ethnocentrism and intertribal antagonism after the Luos and Kalenjin disputed
4620-794: The British in the First Anglo-Burmese War . In 1852, the British easily seized Lower Burma in the Second Anglo-Burmese War . King Mindon Min tried to modernise the kingdom and in 1875 narrowly avoided annexation by ceding the Karenni States . The British, alarmed by the consolidation of French Indochina , annexed the remainder of the country in the Third Anglo-Burmese War in 1885. Konbaung kings extended Restored Toungoo's administrative reforms and achieved unprecedented levels of internal control and external expansion. For
4725-516: The Chairmanship – effectively the position of Myanmar's top ruler – from General Saw Maung in 1992 and held it until 2011. On 23 June 1997, Myanmar was admitted into the Association of Southeast Asian Nations. On 27 March 2006, the military junta, which had moved the national capital from Yangon to a site near Pyinmana in November 2005, officially named the new capital Naypyidaw , meaning "city of
4830-665: The Chindits into the Burmese jungle in 1943. Beginning in late 1944, allied troops launched a series of offensives that led to the end of Japanese rule in July 1945. The battles were intense with much of Burma laid waste by the fighting. Overall, the Japanese lost some 150,000 men in Burma with 1,700 prisoners taken. Although many Burmese fought initially for the Japanese as part of the Burma Independence Army, many Burmese, mostly from
4935-495: The Chinese side of the border. During the incident, the government of China was accused of giving military assistance to the ethnic Chinese rebels. Clashes between Burmese troops and local insurgent groups have continued, fuelling tensions between China and Myanmar. The military-backed Government had promulgated a "Roadmap to Discipline-flourishing Democracy" in 1993, but the process appeared to stall several times, until 2008 when
5040-599: The Government published a new draft national constitution, and organised a (flawed) national referendum which adopted it. The new constitution provided for election of a national assembly with powers to appoint a president, while practically ensuring army control at all levels. A general election in 2010 - the first for twenty years - was boycotted by the NLD . The military-backed Union Solidarity and Development Party declared victory, stating that it had been favoured by 80 per cent of
5145-750: The Restored Hanthawaddy, and by 1759 he had reunited all of Myanmar and Manipur and driven out the French and the British, who had provided arms to Hanthawaddy. By 1770, Alaungpaya's heirs had subdued much of Laos and fought and won the Burmese–Siamese War against Ayutthaya and the Sino-Burmese War against Qing China . With Burma preoccupied by the Chinese threat, Ayutthaya recovered its territories by 1770 and went on to capture Lan Na by 1776. Burma and Siam went to war until 1855, but all resulted in
5250-456: The Sentinel Project and Mobiocracy to create a repository of words and phrases that researchers can use to detect the early stages of genocide and remains in active development. Hatebase offers two main features: a Misplaced Pages-like interface which allows users to classify and record location-specific "sightings", and an authenticating API that allows developers to mesh Hatebase data with other tools for genocide prevention. Critics have identified
5355-483: The Sentinel Project has assessed that Azerbaijan does not exhibit many of the conditions often seen as precursors to modern genocides. The Sentinel Project's Risk Assessment Report on Azerbaijan concludes that while the risk of genocide in Azerbaijan is high, in the event Heydar Aliyev 's regime gains access to the ethnic Armenian population within the NKR, war is unlikely since it is seen as risky and potentially fatal to
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#17328693450905460-436: The Sentinel Project released an update to its annual assessment on the risk of genocide in Kenya in order to reflect recent developments that correspond to each of the 30 risk factors in its early warning framework. The Sentinel Project also responded by deploying a small team to Kenya in order to learn more about the work of the dedicated local groups trying to prevent violence in the country. The team conducted field work in
5565-467: The Shan states were all multi-ethnic polities. Despite the wars, cultural synchronisation continued. This period is considered a golden age for Burmese culture . Burmese literature "grew more confident, popular, and stylistically diverse", and the second generation of Burmese law codes as well as the earliest pan-Burma chronicles emerged. Hanthawaddy monarchs introduced religious reforms that later spread to
5670-465: The Union of Burma's Permanent Representative to the United Nations and former secretary to the prime minister, was elected Secretary-General of the United Nations , a position he held for ten years. When the non-Burman ethnic groups pushed for autonomy or federalism, alongside having a weak civilian government at the centre, the military leadership staged a coup d'état in 1962. Though incorporated in
5775-527: The Union of Myanmar and also rendered Burma (the official English form until 1989), is a country in northwest Southeast Asia . It is the largest country by area in Mainland Southeast Asia and has a population of about 55 million. It is bordered by India to its west, Bangladesh to its southwest, China to its northeast, Laos and Thailand to its east and southeast, and the Andaman Sea and
5880-662: The ability to reach governments, institutions and civil society. These partnerships may also be for more effective information gathering or cooperation in disseminating reports. For example, while investigating the situation-of-concern regarding followers of the Baháʼí Faith in Iran, the Sentinel Project worked together with the Baháʼí Community of Canada and the Middle East-based Muslim Network for Baháʼí Rights. The Sentinel Project also works with both local and international non-profits or associations with
5985-399: The area where the incident occurred." ThreatWiki also shows correlations on how incidents are related to one another according to how they are tagged. Improvements to ThreatWiki will soon make visualizations more interactive and informative. Launched on 25 March 2013, Hatebase is the world's largest online repository of structured multi-lingual, usage-based hate speech . It is an attempt by
6090-480: The area, accusations of foreign interference, lack of title deeds for land, suspicions of political betrayal, and perceptions of government favoritism. The Sentinel Project recommends establishing a trusted, neutral source of information which can help to dispel much of the rumour and intentional disinformation that fuels violence in Tana River as a potential conflict prevention measure. The team also acted as observers in
6195-560: The challenges of capturing, organizing, and conceptualizing communication data through a cultural lens such as The Human Stain conundrum i.e. some words are only hateful in specific contexts. Data collected through Hatebase alone therefore cannot be used to predict ethnic violence, but used in conjunction with other warning factors (such as those from ThreatWiki), can provide insights about when words are about to spill over into actions. The Artsakh or NKR , an ethnic Armenian enclave, has been claimed by Azerbaijan since its secession from
6300-406: The characteristics and actors within an SOC to determine a community's vulnerability to attack. Finally, analysts release regular situation forecasts in anticipation of situation developments and potential changes to the threat level of genocide. Through its early warning capabilities, the Sentinel Project occupies a unique niche in the genocide prevention community. While many other organizations do
6405-787: The charges against her are "politically motivated" according to independent observers. Myanmar is a member of the East Asia Summit , Non-Aligned Movement , ASEAN , and BIMSTEC , but it is not a member of the Commonwealth of Nations despite once being part of the British Empire . Myanmar is a Dialogue Partner of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization . The country is very rich in natural resources , such as jade , gems , oil , natural gas , teak and other minerals , as well as also endowed with renewable energy , having
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#17328693450906510-418: The country by the name Myanmar , including the BBC , CNN , Al Jazeera , Reuters , and the Australian Broadcasting Corporation ( ABC )/ Radio Australia . Myanmar is known by a name deriving from Burma in Spanish , Italian , Romanian , and Greek . French-language media consistently use Birmanie . There are at least nine different pronunciations of the English name Myanmar , and no single one
6615-503: The critical days following this disaster, Myanmar's isolationist government was accused of hindering United Nations recovery efforts. Humanitarian aid was requested, but concerns about foreign military or intelligence presence in the country delayed the entry of United States military planes delivering medicine, food, and other supplies. In early August 2009, a conflict broke out in Shan State in northern Myanmar. For several weeks, junta troops fought against ethnic minorities including
6720-543: The emergence of iron-working settlements in an area south of present-day Mandalay . Evidence also shows the presence of rice-growing settlements of large villages and small towns that traded with their surroundings as far as China between 500 BCE and 200 CE. Iron Age Burmese cultures also had influences from outside sources such as India and Thailand , as seen in their funerary practices concerning child burials. This indicates some form of communication between groups in Myanmar and other places, possibly through trade. Around
6825-420: The ethnic minorities, served in the British Burma Army. The Burma National Army and the Arakan National Army fought with the Japanese from 1942 to 1944 but switched allegiance to the Allied side in 1945. Overall, 170,000 to 250,000 Burmese civilians died during World War II. Following World War II, Aung San negotiated the Panglong Agreement with ethnic leaders that guaranteed the independence of Myanmar as
6930-414: The ethnically Bamar central districts of the country serving as the primary geographical setting of conflict. Foreign journalists and visitors require a special travel permit to visit the areas in which Myanmar's civil wars continue. In October 2012, the ongoing conflicts in Myanmar included the Kachin conflict , between the Pro-Christian Kachin Independence Army and the government; a civil war between
7035-424: The fall of Mandalay, all of Burma came under British rule, being annexed on 1 January 1886. Throughout the colonial era, many Indians arrived as soldiers, civil servants, construction workers and traders and, along with the Anglo-Burmese community, dominated commercial and civil life in Burma. Rangoon became the capital of British Burma and an important port between Calcutta and Singapore . Burmese resentment
7140-405: The first Prime Minister and Premier of Burma. Ba Maw was an outspoken advocate for Burmese self-rule, and he opposed the participation of Britain, and by extension Burma, in World War II . He resigned from the Legislative Assembly and was arrested for sedition. In 1940, before Japan formally entered the war , Aung San formed the Burma Independence Army in Japan. As a major battleground, Burma
7245-422: The first time in history, the Burmese language and culture came to predominate the entire Irrawaddy valley. The evolution and growth of Burmese literature and theatre continued, aided by an extremely high adult male literacy rate for the era (half of all males and 5% of females). Nonetheless, the extent and pace of reforms were uneven and ultimately proved insufficient to stem the advance of British colonialism. In
7350-413: The form of cave paintings in Padah-Lin Caves . The Bronze Age arrived c. 1500 BCE when people in the region were turning copper into bronze, growing rice and domesticating poultry and pigs; they were among the first people in the world to do so. Human remains and artefacts from this era were discovered in Monywa District in the Sagaing Region . The Iron Age began around 500 BCE with
7455-431: The four-century-old kingdom in 1287. Pagan's collapse was followed by 250 years of political fragmentation that lasted well into the 16th century. Like the Burmans four centuries earlier, Shan migrants who arrived with the Mongol invasions stayed behind. Several competing Shan States came to dominate the entire northwestern to eastern arc surrounding the Irrawaddy valley. The valley too was beset with petty states until
7560-408: The funeral of U Thant. Student protests in 1975, 1976, and 1977 were quickly suppressed by overwhelming force. In 1988, unrest over economic mismanagement and political oppression by the government led to widespread pro-democracy demonstrations throughout the country known as the 8888 Uprising . Security forces killed thousands of demonstrators, and General Saw Maung staged a coup d'état and formed
7665-566: The general election which took place on 4 March 2013. The team's election monitoring role was directly related to the Sentinel Project's risk assessment on the likelihood of mass atrocities in Kenya which determined that the presidential election was the most likely trigger for a repeat or even possible escalation of the 2008 post-election violence. The scope of the Sentinel Project's monitoring work includes three other situations of concern: Colombia , Indonesia , and Myanmar . These countries were selected by balancing their apparent risk levels with
7770-575: The general. Almost all aspects of society (business, media, production) were nationalised or brought under government control under the Burmese Way to Socialism , which combined Soviet-style nationalisation and central planning . A new constitution of the Socialist Republic of the Union of Burma was adopted in 1974. Until 1988, the country was ruled as a one-party system , with the general and other military officers resigning and ruling through
7875-494: The genocidal process before extermination begins. When the threat of genocide is identified, the Sentinel Project aims to share the information with existing advocacy groups which can push for government and international measures while simultaneously consulting with subject-matter experts (SMEs) and targeted groups to craft preventive measures. Examples of such measures include countering hate speech often used to promote violence against specific groups. The Sentinel Project's EWS
7980-624: The government held free multiparty elections for the first time in almost 30 years, and the National League for Democracy (NLD), the party of Aung San Suu Kyi, won earning 392 out of a total 492 seats (i.e., 80% of the seats). However, the military junta refused to cede power and continued to rule the nation, first as SLORC and, from 1997, as the State Peace and Development Council (SPDC) until its dissolution in March 2011. General Than Shwe took over
8085-491: The highest solar power potential compared to other countries of the Great Mekong Subregion. However, Myanmar has long suffered from instability , factional violence, corruption , poor infrastructure, as well as a long history of colonial exploitation with little regard to human development . In 2013, its GDP (nominal) stood at US$ 56.7 billion and its GDP ( PPP ) at US$ 221.5 billion. The income gap in Myanmar
8190-561: The kings". In August 2007, an increase in the price of fuel led to the Saffron Revolution led by Buddhist monks that were dealt with harshly by the government. The government cracked down on them on 26 September 2007, with reports of barricades at the Shwedagon Pagoda and monks killed. There were also rumours of disagreement within the Burmese armed forces, but none was confirmed. The military crackdown against unarmed protesters
8295-660: The late 10th century, when it grew in authority and grandeur. Pagan gradually grew to absorb its surrounding states until the 1050s–1060s when Anawrahta founded the Pagan Kingdom, the first ever unification of the Irrawaddy valley and its periphery. In the 12th and 13th centuries, the Pagan Empire and the Khmer Empire were two main powers in mainland Southeast Asia. The Burmese language and culture gradually became dominant in
8400-629: The late 14th century when two sizeable powers, Ava Kingdom and Hanthawaddy Kingdom , emerged. In the west, a politically fragmented Arakan was under competing influences of its stronger neighbours until the Kingdom of Mrauk U unified the Arakan coastline for the first time in 1437. The kingdom was a protectorate of the Bengal Sultanate at different time periods. In the 14th and 15th centuries, Ava fought wars of unification but could never quite reassemble
8505-488: The link to point directly to the intended article. Retrieved from " https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Sentinel_Project&oldid=1219418292 " Category : Disambiguation pages Hidden categories: Short description is different from Wikidata All article disambiguation pages All disambiguation pages Sentinel Project for Genocide Prevention The Sentinel Project for Genocide Prevention (commonly known as The Sentinel Project )
8610-469: The lost empire. Having held off Ava, the Mon -speaking Hanthawaddy entered its golden age, and Arakan went on to become a power in its own right for the next 350 years. In contrast, constant warfare left Ava greatly weakened, and it slowly disintegrated from 1481 onward. In 1527, the Confederation of Shan States conquered Ava and ruled Upper Myanmar until 1555. Like the Pagan Empire, Ava, Hanthawaddy and
8715-448: The nation became an independent republic, under the terms of the Burma Independence Act 1947 . The new country was 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 and overseas territories, Burma did not become a member of the Commonwealth . A bicameral parliament was formed, consisting of
8820-764: The operations team supports the day-to-day functions of the organization, such as fund-raising and volunteer management. The team is based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada with some members in the United States . The Sentinel Project also comprises individual experts who make up the Advisory Council. Members of the organization's Advisory Council include Gregory Stanton , Adam Jones , and Jack Chow . These individuals provide advice and guidance in key areas of expertise and fields such as Genocide Studies, Non-Profit Management, and Humanitarian Intelligence. The Sentinel Project's EWS
8925-462: The organization's resources and the ability to have a positive impact on the ground. The Sentinel Project seeks to cooperate with ethnic and religious communities; legislators, policy and decision makers in the United States , Canada and Europe ; and other international NGOs to influence government policy towards SOC countries. The Sentinel Projects also seeks to partner with human rights and anti-genocide groups with well-established credibility and
9030-516: The outcome of the national elections as flawed. After a comprehensive risk assessment of social, economic and political factors that increase the likelihood of genocide in Kenya, the Sentinel Project's May 2011 report identified several risk factors including; a low degree of democracy, isolation from the international community, high levels of military expenditure, severe government discrimination or active repression of native groups, socioeconomic deprivation combined with group-based inequality and
9135-508: The past, Azerbaijan's ethnic Armenian population is protected by the autonomous but unrecognized state of Nagorno-Karabakh which maintains its own military and receives assistance from the Armenian government. Therefore, the risk of genocide in Azerbaijan is directly linked to the risk of war. The occupation of the NKR by Azeri forces would need to happen before mass atrocities could be committed. Through its application of genocide models and analysis
9240-480: The regime. The Sentinel Project initiated its first SOC to assess the threat of genocide to members of the Baháʼí Faith in Iran. Baháʼís comprise the largest religious minority in Iran , with an estimated 300,000 members in the country, but are highly persecuted by the government and some non-state groups for their religious beliefs. The Sentinel Project's May 2009 report identified several risk factors that contribute to
9345-407: The region now known as Myanmar as early as 750,000 years ago, with no more erectus finds after 75,000 years ago. The first evidence of Homo sapiens is dated to about 25,000 BP with discoveries of stone tools in central Myanmar. Evidence of Neolithic age domestication of plants and animals and the use of polished stone tools dating to sometime between 10,000 and 6,000 BCE has been discovered in
9450-476: The rest of the country. Political unification returned in the mid-16th century, through the efforts of Taungoo , a former vassal state of Ava. Taungoo's young, ambitious King Tabinshwehti defeated the more powerful Hanthawaddy in the Toungoo–Hanthawaddy War . His successor Bayinnaung went on to conquer a vast swath of mainland Southeast Asia including the Shan states, Lan Na , Manipur, Mong Mao ,
9555-411: The risk factors and operational processes identified as the underlying causes of the genocidal threat by effectively engaging target communities, policy-makers, NGOs and the media and developing on-the-ground information networks in SOCs. To support the process, the Sentinel Project had developed an online threat tracking, visualization, and broadcast early warning platform that aggregates public data from
9660-487: The risk of genocide in Myanmar , Colombia and Indonesia . The group's reports and analysis have been disseminated by various media sources and advocacy organizations. To support its mission, the organization plans to create a Sentinel Hub, one of the world's first workspaces dedicated to developing and employing technologies for predicting and preventing mass atrocities. The Sentinel Project team comprises volunteers from
9765-589: The second century BCE the first-known city-states emerged in central Myanmar. The city-states were founded as part of the southward migration by the Tibeto-Burman-speaking Pyu people, the earliest inhabitants of Myanmar of whom records are extant, from present-day Yunnan . The Pyu culture was heavily influenced by trade with India, importing Buddhism as well as other cultural, architectural and political concepts, which would have an enduring influence on later Burmese culture and political organisation. By
9870-563: The surge in violence post-coup, with more than 3 million people in dire need of humanitarian assistance. The name of the country has been a matter of dispute and disagreement, particularly in the early 21st century, focusing mainly on the political legitimacy of those using Myanmar versus Burma . Both names derive from the earlier Burmese Mranma or Mramma , an ethnonym for the majority Burman ethnic group, of uncertain etymology. The terms are also popularly thought to derive from Sanskrit Brahma Desha , 'land of Brahma '. In 1989,
9975-548: The threat of genocide to the Baháʼís of Iran remains very high because of the systematic persecution of the Iranian Baháʼí community, especially in the educational spheres and institutions, the arbitrary arrest of Baháʼí teachers, raiding of Baháʼí homes, discrimination of Baháʼí students in Iranian public schools, abductions of human rights activists by plainclothes agents, an increase in human rights abuses specifically targeted on
10080-546: The threatened communities to inform and empower them to participate in the prevention of their own genocides. From gathering information right through to implementing preventive measures, technology plays a key role in almost everything the Sentinel Project does. Here are a few major technological innovations developed by the organization to fulfill its mission: The Sentinel Project launched its first prototype of ThreatWiki in May 2011 to start actively tracking and monitoring two situations of concern: Kenya and Iran . ThreatWiki
10185-507: The upper Irrawaddy valley, eclipsing the Pyu , Mon and Pali norms by the late 12th century. Theravada Buddhism slowly began to spread to the village level, although Tantric , Mahayana , Hinduism , and folk religion remained heavily entrenched. Pagan's rulers and wealthy built over 10,000 Buddhist temples in the Pagan capital zone alone. Repeated Mongol invasions in the late 13th century toppled
10290-400: The valuable work of maintaining watch lists of countries with violent, repressive governments where genocide could happen, the Sentinel Project's genocide early warning system fulfills a function not currently done by any other organization. The Sentinel Project strives to identify situations of concern at a much earlier stage when there are many options for prevention, and engages directly with
10395-648: The votes; fraud, however, was alleged. A nominally civilian government was then formed, with retired general Thein Sein as president. A series of liberalising political and economic actions – or reforms – then took place. By the end of 2011 these included the release of pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi from house arrest, the establishment of the National Human Rights Commission , the granting of general amnesties for more than 200 political prisoners, new labour laws that permitted labour unions and strikes,
10500-426: The world's longest-running ongoing civil wars . The United Nations and several other organisations have reported consistent and systemic human rights violations in the country. In 2011, the military junta was officially dissolved following a 2010 general election , and a nominally civilian government was installed. Aung San Suu Kyi and political prisoners were released and the 2015 Myanmar general election
10605-577: Was devastated during World War II by the Japanese invasion . Within months after they entered the war, Japanese troops had advanced on Rangoon, and the British administration had collapsed. A Burmese Executive Administration headed by Ba Maw was established by the Japanese in August 1942. Wingate 's British Chindits were formed into long-range penetration groups trained to operate deep behind Japanese lines. A similar American unit, Merrill's Marauders , followed
10710-498: Was held, leading to improved foreign relations and eased economic sanctions , although the country's treatment of its ethnic minorities , particularly in connection with the Rohingya conflict , continued to be a source of international tension and consternation. Following the 2020 Myanmar general election , in which Aung San Suu Kyi’s party won a clear majority in both houses, the Burmese military (Tatmadaw) again seized power in
10815-405: Was released in November 2010. The update outlined many new developments including the impact of the 2009 post-election violence and persistent tensions surrounding the Iranian nuclear program. The threat level was assessed to remain high, particularly since the regime had demonstrated its willingness (after the election) to use paramilitary forces to suppress what it views as internal enemies. Today,
10920-425: Was strong, and was vented in violent riots that periodically paralysed Rangoon until the 1930s. Some of the discontent was caused by a disrespect for Burmese culture and traditions. Buddhist monks became the vanguards of the independence movement. U Wisara , an activist monk, died in prison after a 166-day hunger strike. On 1 April 1937, Burma became a separately administered colony of Britain, and Ba Maw became
11025-688: Was widely condemned as part of the international reactions to the Saffron Revolution and led to an increase in economic sanctions against the Burmese Government . In May 2008, Cyclone Nargis caused extensive damage in the densely populated rice-farming delta of the Irrawaddy Division . It was the worst natural disaster in Burmese history with reports of an estimated 200,000 people dead or missing, damages totalled to 10 billion US dollars, and as many as 1 million were left homeless. In
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