Myanmar rejects campaign to strip Muslims of citizenship

One million more Rohingya remain largely stateless, with pathway to citizenship requiring them to deny their identity

By Joshua Carroll

YANGON, Myanmar – Myanmar’s deputy immigration minister has rejected an appeal by nationalists to strip hundreds of Muslims of citizenship, local media reported Wednesday, marking a rare show of government defiance of Buddhist hardliners.

Just over 200 Muslims in conflict-hit Rakhine state were granted citizenship as part of a government verification process that started in mid-2014.

In late October, campaigners submitted a petition to parliament signed by over 1,100 people objecting to the decision and claiming that the Muslims had been granted citizenship using defunct laws.

The Myanmar Times reported Wednesday that deputy immigration minister Win Myint had rejected the petition, telling members of parliament that the signatories had misunderstood the law.

Rakhine is home to roughly one million Rohingya Muslims, who are officially regarded as outsiders and are largely stateless — government officials insist they are illegal immigrants and refer to them as “Bengalis”.

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