A team of immigration officials of the Burmese junta has once again collected a list of the names of residents around the villages of Sumprabum town in Putao district in Kachin State, northern Burma to make temporary national identity cards (ID) for the ensuing referendum on the country's new constitution in May.
 
Twelve officials from the Sumprabum immigration office arrived in early of March first to give back the national identity cards that were made in January this year to residents around Sumprabum after which they started making temporary IDs for villagers around Sumprabum who don't have any document, said a resident.
 
 A resident who was given a national identity card in January had to pay 3,500 kyat (est. US $ 3.2) for making of an identity card.  Now when they take back their ID cards, the residents have to pay 500 kyat again. Thousands of villagers around Sumprabum have already got the ID card.
 
To make the temporary identity cards immigration officials stayed in one village and collected the list of villagers who are over the age of 18 around Sumprabum with the help of the Kachin Independence organization (KIO). Temporary ID cards are being issued to KIO members as well, a resident added.
 
"I have seen immigration officials making temporary national identity cards on my way to Myiktyina. It's funny that most villagers around Sumprabum town have never seen the national identity card and now they will get it," said a resident in Danghpang village.
 
There are over 50 villages around Sumprabum town and some villages have 50 households while some have ten. The area is under KIO's control.
 
Sumprabum, a small Kachin town in the mountains is situated over 80 miles north of Myitkyina, the capital of Kachin State.