Interfaith marriage law backers counter CSOs

Interfaith marriage law backers counter CSOs

By Kyaw Phone Kyaw   |   Monday, 26 May 2014

The committee for the Protection of Nationality and Religion (Mabatha) has said that their records show that only 40 Buddhist women have ever changed their religion after getting married to men from other faiths.

U Ayeit Paing, one of the committee's executive members, revealed the figure at a press conference designed to counter opposition from civil society groups to the proposed inter-faith marriage bill.

Muslims, Christians and men of other minority faiths could face up to a decade in prison for marrying Buddhist women if the bill is passed.

As it stands the bill would also require men to seek permission in writing from a Buddhist bride's parents before marriage.

The committee, which is closely linked to the Buddhist nationalist 969 movement, insists the bill will protect both Buddhism and Burmese culture.

U Aye Paing said there were more unrecorded cases of women being forced to change their religion but, when asked, was unable to provide any evidence to back up the claim.

"After the Mabatha was established and we had a connection to the whole country, we had problems to solve daily for those who are abused by other religions," he said.

At the press conference large posters presented claims that Buddhist women had been raped by men from other religions, some of them suffering abortions and a few dying afterwards.

The religious committee is also pushing for a law to be enacted that would prohibit a citizen changing faith and another that would enforce monogamy.

It has successfully petitioned the government which has founded a commission of 12 people tasked with drafting bills to put before parliament.

Members include the government's deputy chief lawyer, two deputy ministers and the leader of the legal advisory team of President U Thein Sein.

Details on the draft bills have not yet been made public, but civil society groups are closely following their development.

Some of them say they suspect the bills are designed to garner Buddhist nationalist votes in the run-up to the election next year.

One monk from the religious committee told The Myanmar Times he also wants to see a new law enabling monks to vote.

"We can't vote in the election while the holders of the illegal national registration card can do. The monks are from generations of the 135 native ethnic groups of Myanmar. I'm not arguing for monks to establish political parties though," said U Parmaukkha.

White cards are also held by some Muslim Rohingyas in Rakhine State who are not granted citizenship in Myanmar under the 1982 Citizenship Law.

"If the football match that is playing is Myanmar v Bangladesh, the white-card-holding people will support Bangladesh. The people who aren't patriotic can vote in elections while patriotic people like us can't. It's unfair," Parmaukkha said.

Source: http://www.news.myanmaronlinecentre.com/2014/05/27/interfaith-marriage-law-backers-counter-csos/