No Rohingya in NLD membership application: Arakan State NLD Acting Chairman, U Maung Pwa Aung

Maungdaw, Arakan State: The National League for Democracy (NLD), Arakan State, acting chairman U Maung Pwa Aung told the students group of Maungdaw not to use Rohingya in the column of mentioning the race while applying NLD membership application at inaugurated the NLD office opening ceremony in Maungdaw on April 25 at about 9:30am, said a student who join the opening ceremony of NLD office.

“The acting chairman had met the student group from Maungdaw where he had advised the students to work hard to reach democracy in Burma and told to organize the people in Maungdaw to join the NLD. It is the duty of students.”

“In the opening ceremony, most of the attended students are Rohingya community and the acting chairman advised the students not to use Rohingya as a race column, but use only “Muslim”. He also mentioned that the NLD didn’t want the Maungdaw students group to use – Arakan Muslim, Burmese Muslim, Bangali and Kala- in their membership application.”

“But, the acting chairman in his opening speech in the Maungdaw NLD office ceremony used the word “Kala” for the majority population –Rohingya community in Maungdaw.”

The membership applications which were sent to the head office via regional office on February 12 by U Aung Pan Tha, was opened by acting chairman where he erased the name Rohingya into Muslim in the application. After that the applications were sent to the head office, according to a NLD member and sources.

But, a former NLD executive committee member from Maungdaw said that they send all the applications (around 50,000) before 1990 election with Rohingy ethnic in the race column. At that time, there is no mention about using of the Rohingya ethnic.

“In this time, we are facing some difficult while we are siting in the meeting with high level NLD member, they are using us as a Kala in the meeting where most of the people are Rohingya. Why they use the hate word to us.? May be they are not willing us as a member? First and last, the Rohingya are supporting NLD. Now the NLD high command using us in the meeting as a Kala.”

If we need to write the name Muslim, we are not applying the membership application to NLD office. It is our ethnic name. so, we are not applying the application, said a group of students from Maungdaw.