Published
Friday, March 7, 2008 - 17:40
Junta demands money for new documents and IDs
Burma's ruling junta is demanding money for issuing new family documents and national identity cards in Phakant Township, the country's biggest jade mining area in Kachin State, Northern Burma from last week, local sources said.
Burma's ruling junta is demanding money for issuing new family documents and national identity cards in Phakant Township, the country's biggest jade mining area in Kachin State, Northern Burma from last week, local sources said.
Residents of Phakant who do not have family units (Ing-htaung-su) and national identity cards have been ordered by the local immigration officers and administrators of township and quarters to pay up, said residents of Phakant.
A resident told KNG today, "The immigration officers and quarter administrators are demanding 5,000 Kyat (US $ 4.1) for issuing a new family unit and 10,000 to 20,000 Kyats (US $ 8.2 to 16.4) for a new national identity card."
Unusually, hundreds of residents are seen queuing up every day at the concerned registration centres in each quarter of Phakant from February 27, he added.
They are also collecting all family units where whole families' members are listed with the idea of collecting names of voters over 18 years old for the ensuing referendum on the country's new constitution in May, the residents said.
At the same time, the new census is also taking place in the jade mining areas where natives and miners from the whole of Burma are settled, according to residents.
The junta has also planned to issue the special 'green and white coloured national identity cards' to the people in the two Kachin ceasefire groups in Kachin State--- Kachin Independence Organization (KIO) and New Democratic Army-Kachin (NDA-K), local immigration sources said.
The real national identity card is red in colour and the other coloured IDs are being temporarily issued for the referendum, the local immigration officers added.
Currently, the ruling junta is making voters' list in the whole of Kachin State including the KIO headquarters in Laiza and NDA-K headquarters in Pang Wa on the Sino-Burma border.
Residents of Phakant who do not have family units (Ing-htaung-su) and national identity cards have been ordered by the local immigration officers and administrators of township and quarters to pay up, said residents of Phakant.
A resident told KNG today, "The immigration officers and quarter administrators are demanding 5,000 Kyat (US $ 4.1) for issuing a new family unit and 10,000 to 20,000 Kyats (US $ 8.2 to 16.4) for a new national identity card."
Unusually, hundreds of residents are seen queuing up every day at the concerned registration centres in each quarter of Phakant from February 27, he added.
They are also collecting all family units where whole families' members are listed with the idea of collecting names of voters over 18 years old for the ensuing referendum on the country's new constitution in May, the residents said.
At the same time, the new census is also taking place in the jade mining areas where natives and miners from the whole of Burma are settled, according to residents.
The junta has also planned to issue the special 'green and white coloured national identity cards' to the people in the two Kachin ceasefire groups in Kachin State--- Kachin Independence Organization (KIO) and New Democratic Army-Kachin (NDA-K), local immigration sources said.
The real national identity card is red in colour and the other coloured IDs are being temporarily issued for the referendum, the local immigration officers added.
Currently, the ruling junta is making voters' list in the whole of Kachin State including the KIO headquarters in Laiza and NDA-K headquarters in Pang Wa on the Sino-Burma border.
