Hard-line Buddhists walk through a street during a protest march against the government's plan to give citizenship to some members of the Rohingya minority community in Sittwe, Myanmar, on Sunday. (AP photo)SITTWE, MYANMAR - Hundreds of hard-line Buddhists in a Myanmar state wracked by religious violence protested Sunday against the government's plan to give citizenship to some members of the persecuted Rohingya Muslim minority community. The Rohingya face severe discrimination in Buddhist-majority Myanmar, with many in Rakhine and elsewhere considering them to be illegal migrants from neighbouring Bangladesh, even though Rohingya have been in Myanmar for generations. Rakhine, one of the poorest states in Myanmar, is home to more than 1 million stateless Rohingya. Sunday's protest took place three days after the Rakhine Advisory Commission, led by former UN chief Kofi Annan, urged Myanmar's government to reconsider a failed programme to verify Rohingya for Myanmar citizenship and to remove restrictions on freedom of movement.

Source: Bangkok Post March 19, 2017 12:56 UTC