Final census results set for 2016 release
Ethnic and religious data excluded from the “main results” of the 2014 census on May 29 will be released early next year, officials say.
At a ceremony in Nay Pyi Taw to announce the findings of the nationwide head-count, Minister for Immigration and Population U Khin Yi said further discussions would have to take place with ethnic leaders before those data were released.
Provisional results were released last August.
President U Thein Sein told the ceremony that the figures would “play a crucial role in shaping the future of our country and our society”.
The census, the first for more than 30 years, covers a population with 135 recognised ethnic groups – as well as some that are not recognised.
“I think if we discuss with the ethnic leaders, we can solve these problems. We need more time to do that. So we will release the data on ethnicity, religion, occupation and industry in early 2016,” said U Khin Yi, without specifying the “problems” entailed.
Observers have suggested the delay is a political rather than administrative decision, as there are concerns that the release of sensitive data could inflame tensions at a politically sensitive time.
The International Crisis Group warned in May 2014 of potential risks over the publication of the census results. Disagreements over how to categorise ethnic identities and the possibility that “the total number of Muslims in the country may be much higher than expected” could fuel tensions in the run-up to the November parliamentary elections, it said.
The Muslim population was officially counted as 4 percent of the nationwide total in 1983 – the same proportion as in the previous census a decade earlier.
The census has stirred controversy because of the exclusion of those in Rakhine State who wanted to self-identify as Rohingya.
The ministry said an estimated 1.09 million people were not counted in Rakhine State, while enumerators were also denied access to parts of Kachin State and Kayin State in areas controlled by armed ethnic groups.
“In parts of Rakhine State, members of some communities were not counted because they were not allowed to self-identify using a name that is not recognised by the government. The government made this decision in the interest of security and to avoid the possibility of violence occurring due to inter-communal tensions,” the ministry said in the 277-page census report.
The government refuses to recognise “Rohingya” as an ethnic identity and describes them as “Bengalis”, inferring their roots are in Bangladesh.
Vijay Nambiar, special adviser to the UN secretary-general on Myanmar, acknowledged the census as a “monumental achievement” but said its shortcomings should not be overlooked.
“In northern Rakhine State, a considerable segment of the population was left out of the exercise amid ongoing communal tensions and the demand of many local people to self-identify as Rohingya, a demand not conceded by the authorities,” Mr Nambiar said.
“The official list of ethnic groups used in the census was also a source of disagreement and misgivings. The government has wisely decided to convene a consultative process to revise the categorization to represent Myanmar’s ethnic diversity more accurately before it releases ethnic data,” he said.
U Thein Sein said that in the near future the government would conduct talks to establish a union based on federal principles. “We will certainly encounter issues of categorising and recognising ethnic national races based on political agreements reached. In this respect, the census data would facilitate addressing [those] issues,” he said.
He said the data would also enable the government “to devise and implement more appropriate and effective policies where no one will be left behind. Every citizen, irrespective of gender, race, status, or disabilities, will have equal access to education, healthcare and social services.”
“Reliable and accurate census data will provide such information as available human resources and population-based market positions on which plans and projects can be devised for the effective provision of public services and the development of the private sector, and would attract foreign direct investment flows that would ensure economic development. In the social reform process, population information would enable the effective provision of education and healthcare and the development of the cultures of the ethnic national races,” he said.
U Thein Sein stressed that the census results, as released so far, were available to the public in several formats, including online, in print and through DVDs provided by the ministry.
(Quote from Myanmar times online website on 1 June 2015)