Kachin politicians concerned about UN funded census

KSDP leader Dr. Tu Ja (left) and KDP leader Awng Hkam

In an interview with the Kachin News Group (KNG) this week, Dr. Manam Tu Ja, head of the Kachin State Democracy Party (KSDP) and former vice-president No. 2 of the Kachin Independence Organization (KIO), warned that the national census could destabilise Burma's peace process by causing further tensions.


The upcoming census, the first such census to take place in Burma in more than 30 years is set to run from March 30 to April 10. Many of Burma's ethnic people are concerned that the census, which is being funded by the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), will be conducted in such a way as to under report the number of ethnic people in the country.

The UNFPA's Burma based country representative Janet Jackson has been travelling around Burma over the last few months with Immigration Minister Khin Yi in an apparent effort to convince ethnic people that the census will be fair. Despite her assurance doubts continue. People of mixed ethnicity are prevented from listing both of their ethnicities forcing them to list just one, something that does not meet international standards.

In an interview with the Kachin News Group (KNG) in Myitkyina, Dr. Tu Ja said that the census's methodology is flawed because it compels Kachin to identify themselves by listing one of 12 government recognized Kachin sub-groups as their ethnicity. This practice also extends to Karen, Mon, Shan and other major ethnic groups who are represented on the census list by their respective sub-groups.

“The government should not try to expand ethnic groups,” Dr. Tu Ja told KNG. Referring to the government's official claim that there are 135 different ethnic groups in Burma, a figure that includes 12 different Kachin sub-groups.

Gumgrawng Awng Hkam, leader of Kachin Democratic Party (KDP) another party also based in Myitkyina suggested that the classification system used in the census is very problematic. Both Dr. Tu Ja and Awng Hkam told KNG that the government should have reached a consensus with ethnic communities before moving ahead with the census.

Many Kachin people worry that the government’s controversial census is being conducted in such a way that will lead to the wiping out of the word “Kachin” from the name of the state.

It remains unclear whether census data will be collected in conflict areas in Kachin, Shan and Karen states. The KIO is so far yet to announce whether it will participate with the census or ignore it. Some estimates put the total number people in KIO territory at well over 100,000 people. Though reliable figures remain elusive.

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