YANGON (UCAN): Various groups and citizens in conflict-torn Myanmar have criticised the national census conducted by the military junta led by the general, Min Aung Hlaing, from October 1 to 15.
Opponents called the junta an ‘illegitimate government’ that has neither the authority nor the good intent to carry out such a vital exercise.
The government says accurate census data is essential to ensure a correct voter list ahead of upcoming elections as well as for the nation’s current and future development.
However, civil society groups have raised questions about the exercise given that about half of the country is now controlled by rebel groups and the newly-emerged People’s Defence Force, the armed wing of the government-in-exile—the National Unity Government.
Unlike in the past, citizens were asked to go to heavily guarded designated locations to provide their household information, instead of enumerators making door-to-door visits, raising questions about the accuracy of the data.
“I cannot accept their census collection as they do not represent a legitimate government. The process has become inconvenient. It is not the same as a traditional census,” Daw Khin Win, a resident from Sanchaung Township in Yangon, said.
According to the Ministry of Immigration and Population, the 2024 census includes 68 questions, 27 more than the 41 questions used to get data during the 2014 census.
The additional questions include information on whether family members are involved with any rebel group, or are part of the Civil Disobedience Movement, or if any family member recently travelled aboard.
Khin Win said the census has sparked concern in her family as her daughter is involved with civil disobedience and her son moved to avoid being conscripted.
She branded the current census a form of “unfair interrogation.”
The junta reportedly assured unconvinced people that those who provide correct information won’t be harassed and if a family member is living abroad the person won’t be taxed.
Ko Thiha Naung, an engineer with an electronics company in Insein Township in Yangon, expressed his belief taht the junta’s census might be a ploy to determine health information about family members to find if they can be conscripted into the military.
Concern surrounding the census has escalated and triggered violence.
A ward commissioner in Insein was assassinated. In another case, an explosion left one dead and nine injured during a census meeting in Kyimyindaing Township.
During the census, several officials were detained by rebel forces for disobeying orders not to conduct it, junta-controlled media reported.
Meanwhile, rebel forces controlling vast swathes of Karen, Karrenni, Chin, Mon, and other areas have warned that anyone cooperating with the junta on the census would face “serious consequences.” The rebels alleged that the junta will use census data to recruit new soldiers and prolong the dictatorship.
Conflict-torn regions are to have an extended collection period of three months to ensure completeness, with increased security measures implemented. Preliminary findings of the census will be released in December.
