Fears Myanmar census could stoke tensions

Fears Myanmar census could stoke tensions

By Michael Peel in Yangon and Ben Marino in Laiza

An internationally funded census in Myanmar threatens to undermine the former military dictatorship’s efforts to end more than 60 years of armed internal conflict and fuel a foreign investment boom.

The UN-backed first population survey for more than three decades risks reviving historic ethnic divisions in the country as it opens its doors to international investment, even as the government pushes for a nationwide ceasefire and peace deal, activists and analysts warn.

Continues here:- http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/94dc71ac-a5d6-11e3-9818-00144feab7de.html#axzz2vqKCV4KJ

Census Favors Govt Position, Disadvantages Ethnic People

Experts warn that Burma’s coming census could sow mistrust among ethnic groups and be used by the government to cement its political position.

Mark Farmaner, the director of Burma Campaign UK, said that Burma’s proposed census in March could undermine the political and civil rights of ethnic minority groups, and that troubling signs of misuse have already appeared in the build up to the nationwide count.

“Tensions are already being exacerbated both between ethnic groups and with the government,” Mr Farmaner said. “One example is people from some smaller ethnic groups who have complained that the main ethnic groups treat them the way they complain they are treated by Burmans, being told to register as the main ethnic group, rather than their sub group.”

Continues here:- http://karennews.org/2014/02/census-favors-govt-position-disadvantages-ethnic-people.html/