Yangon (AsiaNews) – In Myanmar the military junta’s generals have announced the release of a dozen or so detainees imprisoned for having taken part in recent protests, but in the interim non Buddhists are facing serious problems and obstacles in obtaining identity cards, sources close to AsiaNews report. “For some time now – they explain – citizens are complaining of the difficulties they encounter in gaining their identity cards; the costs are excessive and in most cases immigration officials demand to be paid off”.
This despite the fact that the military junta had promised an easy course in registration when it recently called the population to register itself. An initiative most probably aimed at gaining consensus in the wake of the atrocities it committed against Buddhist monks which have generated the people’s condemnation and indignation.
But the “easy process” promised does not seem to include Christian, animist or Muslim citizens, who are most often drawn from the ethnic minorities. Actually it is virtually “impossible” for them to obtain the much needed document. “Authorities consider us to be of mixed blood, foreigners – they tell us from Yangon – we have to bring our entire genealogical tree to the registration offices, what’s more our documents have to carry the signatures of at least 5 high ranking state officials, not the case for Buddhists”. The citizens fail to understand the reason for this discrimination. Some, however, express the fear that:”perhaps the government intends to marginalize us, by not allowing us to register we will become virtually inexistent and this could create serious problems for example in the right to vote and in access to public health care”.
According to the regime’s “road map” to democracy, the text of the new Constitution – the publication of which was recently announced after 14 years of consultations – will be put to a public vote, as part of a process which in theory will culminate in new elections. Elections in which – if they are ever organised – the leading figure of the democratic movement, Aung San Suu Kyi, will not be allowed participate.
