Displacement Rohingyas sit at a camp near Sittwe, Rakhine state, in April (Photo by John Zaw) By John Zaw, Mandalay UCA News September 24, 2014 Ethnic Rakhines in Sittwe lashed out this week after the government on Monday granted citizenship to 209 minority Muslims displaced by sectarian violence sweeping through Rakhine state. Rakhine residents in Myebon township have shut their shops, avoided markets and remained at home as a means of lodging discontent against a rare government effort to protect the rights of minority Rohingyas. “Our Rakhine community doesn’t accept that more than 200 Bengalis have been granted citizenship,” said Lower House member of parliament Pe Than, using a widely employed term for Rohingyas that implies the Muslims are illegal aliens from Bangladesh. “The verification process has been so quick and the township level board didn’t listen to the voices and recommendations of the Rakhine community leaders,” he continued. Rights group