Screening of Muslims' citizenship applications starts in Rakhine

 

The screening process started on August 5, said Maung Maung Than, director general of the Immigration and National Registration Department. The 1,049 applications were submitted between June 15 and July 15. 

Khin Soe, director of regional immigration department,

said: “Township authorities are examining the applications and the decision will be forwarded to the government. We hope to finish the process in November.” 

A citizenship-application campaign was kicked off in the township for Muslims who do not have citizenship. They are referred to internationally as “Rohingyas”, but described as “Bengalis” in Myanmar. They have been, for the most part, been considered illegal migrants, but some may be eligible for citizenship under the country’s 1982 Citizenship Law. Those eligible must be at least 18 years old, possessing full conscience, and the ability to speak at least one official ethnic dialect. Myanmar has 135 official ethnic minorities, but the “Rohingya” are not included in this list.

The applications of those born before October 15, 1982 will fall under Sections 6 and 42 of the law while those born after October 15, 1982 will be examined under Sections 7 and 43. The screening committee is chaired by the township administrator, with the township immigration department chief as the secretary. Police, legal experts, two ethnic Rakhine elders and one respected but stateless Muslim are members of the committee. 

The process was initiated on the suggestion of a government panel tasked to investigate the Du Chee Yar Tan violence in the state. On recommending that eligible members of the Muslim community be granted citizenship under the relevant provisions of the law, the panel’s secretary Dr Kyaw Yin Hlaing said the two communities had no confidence in each other because there was suspicion about whether “Rohingya” were genuine citizens or illegal immigrants.

The UNHCR estimated that over 800,000 persons in the state are stateless and that inter-communal tension remains high with almost 140,000 people still displaced. The state government’s official data showed that its population of 2.95 million comprises 1.05 “Bengalis” and 1.9 who are officially recognised ethnic groups, primarily ethnic Rakhine.

The need to address tensions between Buddhists and Muslims is expected to be one of the key messages US Secretary of State John Kerry will deliver to President Thein Sein when he arrives in Nay Pyi Taw on August 9 for a three-day visit. This is aside from promoting US national and security interests, media freedom, solutions to ethnic minorities’ concerns, and the uncertainty surrounding the upcoming 2015 general election.

The US International Religious Freedom Report for 2013 said that tension between Muslims and Buddhists in Rakhine State had spread to other parts of the country. The latest incident was a four-day riot in Mandalay last month. The riot led to the death of two people – a Buddhist and a Muslim – and injured at least 14 people.

“The latest deadly violence was largely a consequence of religious intolerance coupled with elements of religious extremism. Some Buddhist groups have been accusing the Muslim community of conspiring to dominate the whole country. Kerry must convey a message to the Myanmar leadership that equality of rights, including the right to freedom of religion, must be protected and safeguarded,” Nehginpao Kipgena, an Indian political scientist, wrote in an article in The Stateman, a member of Asia News Network. 

Wrapping up her visit to the country in late July, United Nations Human Rights Special Envoy to Myanmar Yanghee Lee expressed concern over the situation of refugees in Kachin State. She also highlighted the importance of reducing tensions and hostility, and promoting reconciliation between the two communities in the Rakhine State.