Alliance of ethnic political parties slam Burma national census

As hte first Kachin participant, KDP leader Awng Hkam joined to hte NBF's Naypyidaw conference on Feb. 1-2.

The Nationalities Brotherhood Federation (NBF), an alliance of 20 registered ethnic political parties in Burma, criticized the ethnic group classification system that will be used for the nationwide census, which is scheduled to be held from March 30 to April 10, according to a statement issued February 2nd.

The statement was released following a two-day conference held at the Yadanar Theingha hotel in Naypyidaw that began February 1st. The conference was attended by over 40 participants including ethnic members of parliament and representatives from the newly formed Kachin Democratic Party (KDP), Gumgrawng Awng Hkam, the leader of KDP who joined to the conference as an observer told the Kachin News Group.

The government should review its controversial census and the way it deals with ethnic nationalities because the way that the census classifies lists the various sub-groups of Burma's major ethnic groups as separate ethnic groups could lead to disintegration among ethnic groups, the statement warned.

The NBF also demanded the government allow for the teaching of ethnic literature and languages in government schools in their respective ethnic regions.

After Burma received independence from the British in 1948, the U Nu government allowed teaching ethnic literature in government schools. However teaching ethnic literature has been banned in government schools since General Ne Win took over the country in military coup in1962.

In order to form a genuine federal union with national equality across the country, the ethnic political alliance also demanded that the government reform the pro military 2008 constitution. The statement also called for the union election commission to include ethnic nationalities as well as for the chief ministers of Burma's states and regions to be selected by the state level parliament not the central government.

Last year on June 11, members of the NBF agreed to form a Federated Union Party following a conference in Taunggyi in Shan state.

According to Awng Hkam, the NBF participants aim is for the group to become a powerful ethnic political alliance in the 2015 elections. The ultimate aim is for the NBF to form or be part of the government after the 2020 elections.

The NBT was founded after the 2010 elections by registered ethnic political parties in Burma.

The NBF now has 15 member parties, the Shan Nationalities Democratic Party, the Tailai (Red Shan) Nationalities Development Party, the Rakhine Nationalities Development Party, the Phalon-Sawaw Democratic Party, All Mon Region Democracy Party, the Chin National Party, the Kayan National Party, the Inn National Development Party, the Danu Nationalities Democracy Party, the Pa-O National Organization, the Ta’ang (Palong) National Party, the Asho Chin National Party, the Wa Democratic Party, the Wa National Unity Party, and the Ethnic National Development Party.