RANGOON — Burma’s
Constitutional Tribunal informed
Parliament on Monday that the
articles of the recently passed
Referendum Law that granted
white card holders voting rights
are in violation of the
Constitution.
Union Parliament Speaker Shwe
Mann read out the Tribunal’s
verdict stating that “white card
holders are ineligible to vote in a
referendum on amendment[s] of
[the] State Constitution,” as it
violated the charter’s Article 4,
Article 38(a) and Article 391,
state media reported on Tuesday.
According to Article 391, only
those with citizenship can be
granted voting rights, the verdict
stated.
The verdict of the Tribunal had
become a moot point after
President Thein Sein last week
decided to backtrack on the
implications of the Referendum
Law he had sent to Parliament
by issuing a directive that let all
temporary identification cards
expire per March 31.
The decision automatically
revoked the voting rights of the
approximately 750,000 card
holders, which for the most part
comprise members of the
stateless Rohingya Muslims in
western Burma’s Arakan State.
An unknown number of ethnic
Chinese, Kokang and Wa
minorities are also white card
holders.
Before the president’s directive
was issued, opposition
lawmakers of Arakanese and
other ethnic parties, and the
National League for Democracy
asked the Tribunal to review the
Referendum Law as they oppose
enfranchising the holders of the
cards, who are not granted
citizenship rights under Burmese
law.
Although the verdict had lost
much of its importance after the
directive was issued, opposition
lawmakers said they were
pleased with the Tribunal’s
decision, which meant that the
Referendum Law will have to be
amended and again be put to a
parliamentary vote.
Khin Maung Swe, a lawmaker of
National Democratic Force Party,
said it would have been “non-
sense if those who granted are
citizens’ [voting] rights are
holding white cards—whether
they are Muslims or Buddhists.”
The 1982 Citizenship Law
disqualified the Rohingya from
any citizenship claims they might
have had—despite the fact that
many have lived in Arakan State
for generations—after which the
government required them to
take white cards instead.
Despite their unclear status, the
former military government
granted the group voting rights
and let members from Muslim-
majority constituencies in
Arakan State represent the ruling
Union Solidarity and
Development Party in
Parliament.
The government has said that its
recent decision to let white cards
expire will require the Rohingya
population to undergo
citizenship verification by local
authorities. The process is
obscured by a dearth of
information, however, and has
only been piloted for a brief
period before running into
opposition of the Arakanese
community, which considers
most of the Muslims in northern
Arakan illegal immigrants from
Bangladesh.
Pe Than, a Lower House
lawmaker with the Arakan
National Party, said
parliamentary discussions should
now focus on how the citizenship
verification process should take
place. “It’s important to examine
accurately and fast according to
the 1982 Citizenship Law—the
government needs to do it with
transparency,” he said.
The decision by Parliament is
likely to anger the Muslim group,
whose plight has rapidly
worsened in recent years.
Shwe Maung, a USDP lawmaker
representing a Muslim-majority
Buthidaung Township in Arakan
State, expressed concern over the
fact that the stateless Muslims
would be without any legal
documentation after the white
cards expire.
He said the verification process
should be conducted in a fair
manner before the holders are
required to handover their cards
on May 31. “Otherwise, they will
be paperless human during
identification process,” Shwe
Maung said.
The international community has
long criticized the government’s
treatment of the Rohingya and
has called on Naypyidaw to grant
them citizenship. A top US State
Department official said last
week that the government’s
decision to revoke the group’s
voting rights and cards was
“counter reconciliation.”
