The Stateless Rohingya Blog

By KPN  August 30, 2014 Mangdaw, Arakan State: The Muslims minority was denied the right to identify themselves as” Rohinggyas” in so-called population data collection in northern Arakan, which was  conducted  since March 30 to April 10 and then from August to till now,  said Rahim( not real name) from the locality.   The census has been conducting with the help of the UN population Fund. The government claims they are illegal immigrants from Bangladesh and calls them “Bengalis” though they have been living there thousand years ago. Yesterday, on August 29, at about 8:00 pm, a group of BGP (Border Guard Police), army along with immigration officers went to Wabeg village of Pawet Chaung village tract of Maungdaw Township and tried to get so-called population data from the villagers. But, the villagers strongly refused to take part in the population data collection as the local authority tried to write” Bengali” in place of “ Rohingya” in the Form, a local leader from the

By AP August 30, 2014 Figures extrapolated from last census in 1983 estimated population at 60 million, but new count finds only 51.4 million. Some isolated parts of northern Kachin state controlled by ethnic rebels were not counted [EPA] Myanmar has discovered it has only 51 million people - far less than the previously estimated 60 million, according to preliminary results of the latest census. State-run television, which announced the initial findings of the country's first census in three decades on Friday, said complete results would be released next year. The census, conducted from March 30 to April 10 with help from the UN Population Fund, counted 51.42 million people. The previous estimate of 60 million was based on extrapolations from the last census, conducted in 1983. The tally went smoothly, except in some areas of the western state of Rakhine where an estimated 800,000 members of a long-persecuted Muslim minority were denied the right t