Sittwe: The Arakan based Hindu community has been issued national ID cards by the Immigration Department as of the beginning of this month.
“We have received national ID cards which is green in colour. The Immigration Department of Burma will issue the national ID cards to all Hindus in Arakan state. It is good for us and is better than having no documents at all,” a Hindu leader said.
The Burmese Immigration Department had not issued ID cards to the Hindu community in Arakan state earlier as they as they are considered foreign citizens.
“We have been living in Arakan state for a long time. My grandfather and grandmother were born here. So we are citizens of Burma. Getting ID cards is a great thing for our community,” he said.
The ID card issued to the Hindu community is a little different from the national ID cards issued to the Rakhine and Burman.
“It is a green colour national ID card and it is only for citizens from foreign countries. It is a little different from the National ID cards issued to ethnic nationalities of Burma,” an immigration officer in Maungdaw said.
In Sittwe, the capital of Arakan state, the Hindu community has received the ID cards but Hindus in rural areas are yet to receive it.
The Immigration Department in Maungdaw is taking photographs of Hindu people in Maungdaw Township to issue national ID cards soon, the immigration official said.
The Muslim community in Maungdaw, however, is angry and disgruntled with the regime for not issuing national ID cards to them despite having issued National ID cards to the Hindu community in Arakan, a local source said.
