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Panthay and Rohingya : Dealing with Citizenships in Myanmar
Dewi Hermawati Resminingayu
Neither ethnic and religious background nor historical root could likely explain the fact that most Panthay have been granted Burmese citizenship while the Rohingya have not. Both groups are not adhering to the majority‟s religion nor belong to the major ethnic groups. Also, their ancestors were not considered native nor settled in Myanmar before British colonization. This fact triggers question of how these similarities resulted in different outcomes. Therefore, this paper attempts to explain this issue of citizenship by looking at resistance shown by Rohingya and Panthay. This paper argues that different forms of resistance contribute to the denial of Rohingya citizenship but inclusion of the Panthay.
The denial of Rohingya citizenship in Myanmar has gained international concern for more than a decade. The reason underlying this denial is 1982 Burma Citizenship Law which requires the people to settle in Myanmar prior to 1823 when British officially colonized Burma. According to Human Rights Watch report (2000), this law excludes the Rohingya because they cannot provide ”conclusive evidence” stating they or their ancestors had settled before 1823. The Myanmar government considers the Rohingya as migrants brought by the British colonization; therefore, they are not eligible to attain citizenship. In contrast to the Rohingya, the Panthay who also settled in Myanmar after British colonization do not face much difficulty in attaining the citizenship. This fact implies that the reason underlying the denial is beyond that of stated by the government.
Another reason that might explain why the Rohingya have not been granted citizenship is the ethnic and religious identity, for the prominent issues surrounding the national integration in Myanmar are mostly related to ethnicity and religion. Nevertheless, both the Rohingya and the Panthay do not belong to the majority ethnic group and religion. Both groups are Muslims which comprise only 4% of the population although Walton (2013) argues that the percentage is contestable. With regard to the ethnicity, the ancestors of the Panthay are Yunnanese Muslims that are not considered native of Myanmar. While the origin of the Rohingya is still debatable, the Myanmar government has regarded them as descendants of migrants from Chittagong area, part of Bangladesh.
