Citizenship Law: Rohingya Face

citizenship law: We are protesting to tell the government to rightfully follow the 1982 citizenship law and we cannot allow the government giving citizenship cards to these illegal migrants, said Aung Htay, a protest organizer, according to Brandon Sun. The Rohingya face severe discrimination in Buddhist-majority Myanmar, with many in Rakhine and elsewhere considering them to be illegal migrants from neighbouring Bangladesh, even though Rohingya have been in Myanmar for generations. Rakhine state's dominant Arakan National Party led the protest in Sittwe, the state capital, where many Rohingya lived before an outbreak of inter-communal violence in 2012 forced them to flee their homes. The 2012 violence killed hundreds and drove about 140,000 people predominantly Rohingya from their homes to camps for the internally displaced, where most remain. Sunday's protest took place three days after the Rakhine Advisory Commission, led by former U.N. chief Kofi Annan, urged Myanmar's government to reconsider a failed program to verify Rohingya for Myanmar citizenship and to remove restrictions on freedom of movement. Rakhine, one of the poorest states in Myanmar, is home to more than 1 million stateless Rohingya. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.