Radio New Zealand - Te Reo Irirangi o Aotearoa

Name of Myanmar now Burma for NZ Govt

Updated at 10:47 am on 2 December 2010

The Government has accepted a recommendation from Foreign Affairs Minister Murray McCully to change New Zealand's position on Myanmar, the country also known as Burma.

Mr McCully says the Government's preferred name is now Burma, signalling, he says, that New Zealand refuses to recognise the legitimacy of the ruling military regime.

Mr McCully says the name Myanmar was promoted by the military junta and most opponents of the regime refuse to use it.

For that reason, he says Burma is the appropriate name.

But, Mr McCully says the Government's position still allows for the use of the name, Myanmar, where it's recognised as such.

At the United Nations, Myanmar is recognised as that country's official name.

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