REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, YANGON - Minister of Immigration and Population Khin Yi, who is head of the census commission, said the Rohingyas' classification was one of the reasons counting had to be extended, adding that some actually wanted to be counted as Bengalis.

"We heard from some people that they would like to be identified as 'Bengali', as they really are, but they are not brave enough to do so because of the pressure and threats behind them," the Democracy Today Daily quoted Khin Yi as saying, comments that a senior ministry official later confirmed.

"They were always recorded as Bengali, since the censuses under the British (colonial rule) till the last one in 1983."

The problem is not limited to the Rohingyas. The government and UNFPA have been criticized for basing the census on 135 officially recognized ethnic groups. Critics say that is outdated and inaccurate.

Ethnic groups say their political representation and claims to ethnicity could be compromised if they are undercounted. According to Human Rights Watch, several armed ethnic rebel groups said they would bar census-takers - enumerators - from their territory. Questions have been raised about the validity of the census.

"If UNFPA and the government heeded warnings to at least remove the ethnic and religious questions, then a partial census would have been better than none at all," said Smith.

"At this point, it would've been better for the country if the enumerators stayed home." (End)

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