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Thursday 16 Apr 2015 - 14:02 Makkah mean time-27-6-1436  Photo: Arakan News Agency Arakan (IINA) – Myanmar authorities have collected about 40,000 temporary identification cards from displaced and stateless Rohingya Muslims in restive Arakan (Rakhine) state, as part of the process of applying for citizenship.
Arakan News Agency reported that an immigration officer in the state capital Sittwe said that more than 10,000 of the “white cards” were being collected daily in the western Myanmar state, following a declaration by President Thein Sein in February that they would expire on March 31.
The move came about because of a bill that would have allowed white card holders to vote in a referendum on constitutional amendments, which drew sharp opposition from Buddhist nationalists.
Most of the temporary identification card holders are persecuted Rohingya, a Muslim minority of around one million people who live in Arakan state. The Myanmar government views the Rohingya Muslims as illegal immigrants from Bangladesh although many of them have lived in the country for generations.
Myanmar government said that the Rohingya must turn in all the cards by May 31 so they can apply for citizenship by June 1, according to the citizenship law of 1982, which does not recognize the Rohingya as an ethnic minority of Myanmar.
AB/IINA
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