Activists in Kachin State say that more than 30 percent of the state’s population could be left out of the ongoing national census because they are living in areas under the control of the Kachin Independence Organization (KIO), according to a report by RFA. “The government discussed with other ethnic armed groups about the census, but not with the KIO. For that reason … some 300,000 to 400,000 Kachin people living in KIO-controlled areas will not be on the list,” Khon Ja, the director of the Kachin Peace Network activist group, told RFA’s Burmese-language service on Monday. The report comes amid concerns that the census, which started on Monday, will also exclude Rohingya Muslims in Arakan State.
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