Self-identification Clarification Recently, we have seen some lobbyists are saying self-identification is the human right when they are lobbying for Bengali (so-called Rohingya) when Burmese government is conducting census or when Burmese are refusing to recognize the term using so-called Rohingya. We would like to highlight that these lobbyists have omitted important fact of information. Self-identification can be done if group of people are the indigenous to the land but not immigrant or migrant since they have their own ancestral roots of ethnic identity. Definition of the indigenous means originating or occurring naturally in a particular place; native. Immigrants or migrant who are not native to Arakan cannot do self-identification since they belong to their ancestral root ethnic background. For example, in USA any Spanish or Spanish speaking background people are called Hispanics by US government and sometimes US government is referring them with their countries of origin such as Cuban-Hispanic, Mexican-Hispanic or Colombian-Hispanic. If international community including USA keep on offending Burmese by using the term so-called Rohingya referring to Bengali which Burmese don't agree might push Burmese closer towards China. [Burma Democratic Concern (BDC)] 18 November 2014

1. Self-identification Clarification
Recently, we have seen some lobbyists are saying self-identification
is the human right when they are lobbying for
Bengali (so-called Rohingya) when Burmese government is
conducting census or when Burmese are refusing to
recognize the term using so-called Rohingya.
We would like to highlight that these lobbyists have omitted
important fact of information.
Self-identification can be done if group of people are the
indigenous to the land but not immigrant or migrant since
they have their own ancestral roots of ethnic identity.
Definition of the indigenous means originating or occurring
naturally in a particular place; native.
Immigrants or migrant who are not native to Arakan cannot
do self-identification since they belong to their ancestral root
ethnic background.
For example, in USA any Spanish or Spanish speaking
background people are called Hispanics by US government
and sometimes US government is referring them with their
countries of origin such as Cuban-Hispanic, Mexican-Hispanic
or Colombian-Hispanic.
If international community including USA keep on offending
Burmese by using the term so-called Rohingya referring to
Bengali which Burmese don't agree might push Burmese
closer towards China.
[Burma Democratic Concern (BDC)]
18 November 2014