Politics behind switch of Burma to Myanmar

Supporters on a car wave national and military flags in Yangon a day after a coup which has once again shone a light on confusion over the use of the name Burma or Myanmar (Thein Zaw/AP)

Monday’s military coup in which Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi was placed under detention has again returned focus to one much discussed side issue: Where exactly did the coup take place?

Was it in Myanmar, as the country is officially called? Or was it in Burma, the name Washington and some other foreign administrations continue to use?