Suu Kyi slams child limit for Muslims
Source: Agencies |
May 28, 2013, Tuesday
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MYANMAR opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi yesterday condemned a policy by a district government to limit Muslim Rohingya families to two children in an effort to curb population growth.
The two-child policy dates back to 1994, but it does not appear to have been enforced until recent weeks.
"They shouldn't discriminate. This is against human rights," Suu Kyi said.
An estimated 800,000 Rohingya live in Rakhine State in the west of Myanmar. Many of the Buddhist majority in the country consider them illegal immigrants from Bangladesh and the government refuses to grant them citizenship.
Clashes with Rakhine State Buddhists last year left at least 192 people dead and 140,000 homeless. Most of the victims were Rohingya.
A commission appointed to look into last year's violence recommended in an April 29 report that if the government went ahead with a proposed family planning programme, it should "refrain from implementing non-voluntary measures which may be seen as discriminatory or that would be inconsistent with human rights standards."
A senior immigration official, using the term "Bengali" for Rohingya that is widely used by Buddhists, said Maungdaw District had decided to enforce the directive following the recommendations in the report.
"Under this directive, Bengali men are allowed to have only one wife and each married couple can have two children. Where there are more than two children, they are considered illegal," he said. "As far as I know, there are also plans to encourage Muslim women to go to school and to educate them on the benefits of restricting family size."
The two-child policy dates back to 1994, but it does not appear to have been enforced until recent weeks.
"They shouldn't discriminate. This is against human rights," Suu Kyi said.
An estimated 800,000 Rohingya live in Rakhine State in the west of Myanmar. Many of the Buddhist majority in the country consider them illegal immigrants from Bangladesh and the government refuses to grant them citizenship.
Clashes with Rakhine State Buddhists last year left at least 192 people dead and 140,000 homeless. Most of the victims were Rohingya.
A commission appointed to look into last year's violence recommended in an April 29 report that if the government went ahead with a proposed family planning programme, it should "refrain from implementing non-voluntary measures which may be seen as discriminatory or that would be inconsistent with human rights standards."
A senior immigration official, using the term "Bengali" for Rohingya that is widely used by Buddhists, said Maungdaw District had decided to enforce the directive following the recommendations in the report.
"Under this directive, Bengali men are allowed to have only one wife and each married couple can have two children. Where there are more than two children, they are considered illegal," he said. "As far as I know, there are also plans to encourage Muslim women to go to school and to educate them on the benefits of restricting family size."
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