Myanmar’s population Bill ‘might oppress minorities’

YANGON — Myanmar’s President has signed off on a law requiring some mothers to space their children three years apart despite objections by rights activists, who worry it could be used to repress religious minorities, especially the Rohingya Muslims.

The Population Control Health Care Bill, which was drafted under pressure from hardline Buddhist monks with a staunchly anti-Muslim agenda, was passed by parliamentarians last month.

On Saturday, state-run media announced that President Thein Sein had signed the Bill into law, just hours after the departure of United States Deputy Secretary of State Anthony Blinken, who said that he warned Myanmar leaders during face-to-face talks last week about the dangers of the legislation.

As predominantly Buddhist Myanmar started moving from dictatorship to democracy four years ago, newfound freedoms of expression lifted the lid on hatred for minority Muslims — including Rohingya Muslims now arriving on South-east Asian shores in crowded, rickety boats.

Many are fleeing persecution and violence that has left up to 280 people dead and forced another 140,000 from their homes in the western Rakhine state.

They are living under apartheid-like conditions in dusty, crowded camps, with little access to education or adequate medical care.

They also have little freedom of movement, having to pay hefty bribes if they want to pass police barricades, even in the case of emergencies.

The population law gives the state the right to enact what it calls “birth spacing”, decreeing women wait 36 months between child births.

The legislation, which carries no punitive measures, also gives regional authorities the power to implement population control measures in areas with high rates of population growth.

Human rights groups and health monitors say that the government was already enforcing a two-child policy in parts of northern Rakhine state, where the Muslim population outweighs that of the Buddhist one, and fear that the new law will make it easier to enforce abortions and birth control.

Though the government says that the law is aimed at bringing down maternal and infant mortality rates, activists argue that it steps on women’s reproductive rights and it can be used to suppress the growth of marginalised groups.

“It’s very disappointing,” Ms Khin Lay, a women’s rights activist, said of the President’s decision to sign off on the law. “If the government wants to protect women, they should strengthen laws already in place to do that.”

Hardline Buddhists have repeatedly warned that Muslims, with their high birthrates, could take over the country of 50 million even though they currently represent less than 10 per cent of the population.

The population legislation is part of a push to pass a set of laws that “protect race and religion” in Myanmar, including a law that constrains interfaith marriages, especially between Buddhist women and Muslim men.

Mr Blinken, who met Mr Thein Sein, the army’s commander in chief and other top government officials during a visit to Myanmar, expressed “deep concern” about the law and three others in the assembly aimed at protecting race and religion.

“The legislation contains provisions that can be enforced in a manner that would undermine reproductive rights, women’s rights and religious freedom,” Mr Blinken said told reporters on Friday.

“We shared the concerns that these Bills can exacerbate ethnic and religious divisions and undermine the country’s efforts to promote tolerance and diversity.” AGENCIES