Bethausian Second Union
Royal Union of Bethausia ဘဒဥသ ၏တော်ဝင်သမဂ္ဂ (Burmese) | |||||||||
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| 1968–1995 | |||||||||
.svg) Coat of arms
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| Motto: Strength in Diversity and Adversity | |||||||||
| Capital | Kengkaw | ||||||||
| Common languages | |||||||||
| Religion | Secular state | ||||||||
| Demonym(s) | Bethausian | ||||||||
| Government | Unitary constitutional monarchy under an authoritarian military dictatorship | ||||||||
| King | |||||||||
• 1965 – 1995 | Henry Louis Wunna Kan Caelum | ||||||||
| Prime Minister | |||||||||
• 1968 – 1981 | Phyoe Soe | ||||||||
• 1981 – 1988 | Albert Naing Zarni Schauerte | ||||||||
• 1988 – 1995 | Mg Myint Thet | ||||||||
• 1995 – 1995 | Kyaw Arkar | ||||||||
| Legislature | Royal Junta | ||||||||
| Historical era | War of Lorican Aggression and Post-War of Lorican Aggression Crisis | ||||||||
| 16 June 1968 | |||||||||
| 3 April 1969 | |||||||||
| 12-15 February 1991 | |||||||||
| 23 February 1993 – 19 August 1995 | |||||||||
| 16 August 1995 | |||||||||
• Abdication of Henry Louis | 19 August 1995 | ||||||||
| 20 August 1995 – 16 November 1996 | |||||||||
| Currency | Bethausian kyat | ||||||||
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The Second Union (Burmese: ဒုတိယ ပြည်ထောင်စု; Dutiy Pyihtaunghcu), also known as Wunnakanist Bethausia (ဝဏ္ဏကံရဲ့ ဘဒဥသ, Wunna Kanrae Badausa), Militarist Bethausia (စစ်ဝါဒီ ဘဒဥသ, Hcaitwarde Badausa) and the First Junta (ပထမ စစ်အစိုးရ, Pahtam Hcaitaahcoer), was the mixed monarchy-military government that ruled Bethausia from 1968 to 1995, a total of 27 years. After the Abdication of Henry Louis on 19 August 1995, the country underwent a transition to democracy.
The Second Union's foundations lay in the Dissolution of the Assembly of the Royal Union on 10 June 1968, where Henry Louis issued a royal prerogative that effectively dismantled parliamentary democracy with the Tatmadaw's support. Six days later, the 1968 Constitution was ratified from a controversial referendum, formalizing the creation of the Union and the transformation of the country into a unitary state. The military junta led by King Henry Louis, known colloquially as the Royal Junta, used the Lorican invasion, the local communist insurgencies, and the anti-war sentiment from political parties in the left, center, and right wings as justification for their political maneuvering, presenting it as pretext for national security.
The Royal Junta was comprised of ten military officers with the King at its head, each holding high offices and wielding significant power than the cabinet ministers, which were junior military officers or civilians. The only exceptions to this arrangement were the Ministers of Commerce and Finance, which were occupied by civilian economists that advised the government on maintaining a free market economy which restored Bethausia's economy beyond its pre-war state. On 3 April 1969, Henry Louis assented the Succession Law for the State, which enabled the military to permanently preserve their positions in government, and the election of a succeeding monarch with the consent of both the incumbent and the junta members. Moreover, it displayed Henry Louis's favoritism towards the military. As stated by the 1968 constitution, the Junta maintained strict control over the states by abolishing their self-governance.
The regime was characterized by the systemic suppression of political parties, particularly the left-wing parties, and the persecution of dissidents on a scale unprecedented until the State Reconstruction, Development and Preservation Council during the Bethausian Civil War. During its tenure, despite the end of the Communist Insurgency in early 1989, the regime left over 4,600 murdered or missing, over 35,000 tortured, and over 80,000 incarcerated among its population, a fact that overshadowed the economic achievements and impacted Bethausian society. The crackdowns on protestors from 12 to 15 February 1991 proved the catalyst for anti-junta sentiments among the populace to foster, despite government censorship. The attitude mutated into the much wider Scarlet Revolution, an approximately two-year-long non-violent protest headed by prominent figures including Aeindra Inzali Sein Myat, Thurein Wai, U Ye Zar Kaung, Myint Myat, Niclas Pyae Linn Pohl, Isabelle Aeindra Gerstäcker, Jonathan Khaing Myint, Admiral Mg Bo Thawda, and Princess Royal Mariannette. Popular opposition grew and intensified into the summer 1995, which led to Senior General Mg Myint Thet's resignation on 12 March 1995. The junta, fearing further sanctions and revocation of investment from the nation's allies and the Federal Union Association, agreed with the protestors' demands, and amended the constitution that enabled the issuance of a plebiscite on August 16. The plebiscite resulted in 70% of voters approving of the abdication of Henry Louis and the dissolution of the junta. The aforementioned monarch abdicated three days later alongside the junta, resulting in public jubilee and a transition to democracy.