YANGON — Census takers guarded by police and soldiers took to the streets of Myanmar on Wednesday for a national survey that anti-junta groups have urged people to boycott.
The junta is pressing ahead with the census even though it has lost control of large areas of the country to armed groups opposed to its rule.
The junta says the poll is needed to update voter lists ahead of promised elections in 2025.
Teams of civil servants accompanied by soldiers and armed police went door to door in Yangon to fill in the 68-question survey.
“School teachers, the authorities, police and militia members are taking the census. Militias who attended basic military training are helping for security in their area,” an anonymous military officer told AFP.
“We have tightened security when taking census because of the threats by terrorists.”
The military has designated anti-regime groups as “terrorists” but last week invited the organization to peace talks.
Junta chief Min Aung Hlaing and other commanders were among the first to be surveyed on Tuesday. The census is scheduled to go on until October 15.
The survey includes questions about family members living away from home, which critics say is a way for the junta to identify who has joined armed groups or fled the country to avoid conscription.
“They mainly focused on the list of family members in the household and they also asked about family members who are living away,” Daw Wai Wai, a mother of three in Lewe Township near Naypyidaw, told AFP.
The Chin Brotherhood Alliance in Chin State said the census was “only aimed at prolonging the power of the military council” and warned people not to take part.
“Chin Brotherhood hereby issues a warning that effective action will be taken against anyone who participates in the military council’s census in our area,” the group said in a statement.
A Karen National Union leader Saw Thamain Tun said the junta was trying to create legitimacy for military rule through the census.
