Two union ministers, meeting representatives of armed groups and civil society organizations in Chiangmai, on Monday (30 December 2013), urged cooperation and participation by armed groups for the upcoming nationwide census taking, 30 March-10 April.

Several groups, including the United Wa State Party / United Wa State Army (UWSP/UWSA), National Democratic Alliance Army (NDAA) and the Karenni National Progressive Party / Karenni Army (KNPP/KA), have agreed to the government’s request, said Immigration and Population Minister U Khin Yi. “With your participation, I’m sure the census taking will be 100% success,” he declared.

The meeting was presided over by President’s Office Minister and Vice Chairman of the Union Peacemaking Work Committee (UPWC) U Aung Min.

Speaking to SHAN on the sidelines, U Khin Yi said he would like to meet with each armed group’s representatives as soon as possible to work on the details. “But I would need them to bring along household lists as well as the population under each group’s control,” he emphasized. “Only then we will be able to figure out how many enumerators we will need to train.”

The training will begin in each township during the first half of March. “Conducting the census in local languages is fine,” he added. “But we will need to have a detailed report in Burmese.”

During the meeting he had also stressed that responses from the respondents should be “truthful”. Mahn Mahn, the Karen National Union (KNU)’s joint secretary, however suggested that as names are not  indispensable parties of the process, not insisting on getting the correct names would help in achieving truthful responses.

Inevitably, the Q & A session focused around the controversial 135 “national races” issue.

The minister however was conciliatory on the point. “Right now, Shans (who have been divided into 10 national races) are campaigning among themselves to adopt a common identity,” he told the meeting. “So are the others. There shall be no difficulty in accepting the results of their campaigns.”

Controversy in the meantime continued for mixed-bloods. “For age 15 upwards, it is up to the respondent concerned to decide for himself/herself which national race he/she wants to be known as,” explained Dr Khaing Khaing Soe, the minister’s personal assistant. “For those under 15, the parents will make decisions for them. As for those whose parents are separate, the decision will rest on the paternal’s side.”

The answer brought counter-suggestions from the participants, particularly from the women’s rights activists.

“As for respondents who want to adopt a national race that is different from either parent’s, it can be done only after the census,” said U Khin Yi. “Those who wish to change their ethnic identifies should submit applications to the registration department.”

The meeting which began at 09:00 ended at 12:30. For further details, the minister requested all to forward their questions and suggestions to the program’s website.
U Aung Min concluded it with a guarantee that the census taking “will not take away the ethnic people’s rights.”