Day Four. Friday, 28 November 2014: Censoring the census results

The provisional census data which came out on 30 August had nothing to say about the “135” national races of the country. In fact, Minister U Khin Yi, who is responsible for the March-April census, had clarified the figure was “just for quoting,” according to a seminar participant, who is involved in the monitoring of the official head count.

It was deliberately left out because it entails a lot of controversies, he says, such as:
• Some disagree being in the same grouping (For instance, Dawei in Burmese group: If we are in Burmese group, so should Arakanese.)
• Some national races find themselves in more than a grouping (For instance, Kebar is in both Karen and Kayah groups)
• Some national races are named differently as separate national races (For instance, Shan,  Shan Gyi and Tailong, which are synonymous)
• Some sub- families of the same national race may also want to be separately registered (For instance, Zomi from Chin, and Burmese speaking Shan Ni from Shan)
• Some are originally from one race but registered as another (“Even U Myint Kying, a census official, admits he is Mon but registered as Burmese”)
• Designating people who wish to be known as Rohingya as “Bengali” may be technically in error, as one remarks, because it belongs to people in West Bengal of India, though they may be from the same linguistic group like Shans, Thais and Laos are
 “The current mess is the outcome of the top-down planning without consulting those concerned,” he concludes.

The government has announced that the full report will be released in May 2015. A participant also speaks of the government’s plan to hold a conference to clarify the “135” national races “jumble”. No one seems to be sure whether it will be in May  or before that.

Another participant’s suggestion is that waiting for Naypyitaw to clear the mess will not spell the end of the problem. “We must initiate a pre-emptive conference of our own to make sure what the government does is all in order,” he counsels.

The seminar ends with recommendations from the participants. One is to form an Assembly of Civil Society, as during the 1986-96 Guatemalan peace process, to assist in the consensus building, social cohesion; to offer relevant proposals to both sides; to facilitate dialogues; to monitor the process and assist in protective measures. “For the peace process to reach the point of no return, I believe the participation of the people is a must,” says one.

To mark the event, a dinner party was thrown at the House of Memories, where Gen Aung San used to have his office.

N.B
If the reader thinks the journal doesn’t do justice to the seminar, please look out for the full report from TNI which should be coming out soon.