A group of local residents in Maungtaw has issued a statement saying that granting citizenship to the local Muslims was unlawful. The statement issued on 22 February said many Rohingya were issued with citizenship ID without they were assessed under the Burma Citizenship Law of 1982. The statement urged to stop issuing the IDs to Rohingyas. At least 21 Rohingya people were issued with citizenship identification cards while 14 other together with the 18 members of their families have received neutralised citizenship IDs. The statement called for inclusion of the local representatives in the verification committee on the citizenship under the Burma Citizenship Law of 1982. And it called for withdrawal of the citizenship ID issued to Rohingyas. It said as the verification committee include only government officials it is not transparent. The statement called for inclusion of Rakhine ethnic people in the verification committee, to revoke the citizenship and neutralised citizenship cards issued to Muslims and to put on trial U Win Lwin, the head of Rakhine State Immigration Department for issuing the Citizenship Cards through unlawful means. The statement also included ultimatum for the authorities to meet their demand otherwise tens of thousands of people will march to Sittwe from Maungtaw through Buthitaung. Reference: RFA Burmese