Myanmar shadow govt promises citizenship of Rohingyas

A shadow government in Myanmar called on the Rohingya minority to help it overthrow the junta, promising citizenship and repatriation for the persecuted Muslim community in a future democratic Myanmar.

Myanmar has been in turmoil since the military overthrew democracy champion (NLD) government in a 1 February coup.

National Unity Government (NUG), a group of ousted lawmakers –mostly from the Aung San Suu Kyi-led National League for Democracy–made the call on Thursday to bring anti-coup dissidents together.

The junta has classified the NUG as "terrorists", meaning anyone speaking to them -- including journalists -- can be subjected to charges under counter-terrorism laws.

"We invite Rohingyas to join hands with us and with others to participate in this Spring Revolution against the military dictatorship," the group said in a statement.

The NUG also promised to end a 1982 citizenship law which discriminates against the Rohingya, promising all those born in Myanmar or to a Myanmar citizen would be granted citizenship.

Suu Kyi's NLD government had avoided the term "Rohingya" because of sensitivity among ethnic groups in the majority-Buddhist country.

In Myanmar, the Rohingya are widely seen as interlopers from Bangladesh and have been denied citizenship, rights and access to services for decades under what Amnesty International calls apartheid-like conditions.

NUG also said it was committed to repatriating all Rohingya languishing in camps in Bangladesh "as soon as repatriation can be accomplished voluntarily, safely and with dignity."

More than 740,000 Rohingya fled over the border into Bangladesh after a bloody military campaign in 2017 that the UN condemned as ethnic cleansing.