A/HRC/7/10/Add.1 page 44 Myanmar Urgent appeal sent on 10 May 2007 178. The Special Rapporteur brought to the attention of the Government information she had received concerning violations of the right to freedom of religion or belief in Myanmar, particularly regarding members of religious minorities. According to the information received, the State Peace and Development Council actively restricts freedom of assembly and does not take action to prevent or punish the use of violence against those who manifest their religious beliefs or question the religious persecution they are subjected to. Concerns have been expressed about the requirement to obtain a permit for any gathering of more than five people. 179. With regard to Christians, some of their members reported having been forced to destroy both their churches and public symbols of their religion. It has also been reported that at the direction of the Government they have been forced to construct Buddhist pagodas, even in areas where there is no Buddhist population. In addition, translations of the Bible in indigenous languages are forbidden, and it is likewise illegal to import Bibles from abroad. 180. Muslims claim that they are not allowed to build new mosques and to extend or repair existing mosques and madrassas. As a result, many mosques are left in a state of dilapidation. In certain places, the land of the mosque was confiscated by the authorities such as in Sittwe where a Buddha museum was built on the land of the mosque. Furthermore, under the 1982 Citizenship Law, the Rohingyas were denied Myanmar citizenship, which has curtailed the full exercise of their civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights and led to various discriminatory practices. 181. Besides, Rohingya couples need to obtain a permission to marry and, if they get married only in a religious way, which is not considered as an official marriage, they can be imprisoned. These measures are only reportedly imposed to Rohingya Muslims and only in North Arakan. According to two new regulations from October 2005, Muslim men, with the exception of religious leaders, must shave their beard to be allowed to marry and couples need to sign a declaration they won't have more than two children. Observations 182. The Special Rapporteur regrets that she has not received a reply from the Government concerning the above mentioned allegation. She would like to refer to her framework for communications, more specifically to the international human rights norms and to the mandate practice concerning “Minorities” (see above para. 1, category III. 5.). Urgent appeal sent on 28 September 2007 jointly with the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention, the Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions, the Special Rapporteur on the question of torture, the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Myanmar and the Special Representative of the Secretary-General on the situation of human rights defenders 183. The Special Procedures mandate holders brought to the attention of the Government reports they have received indicating that, in the course of the past week or more, the military had dispersed demonstrations, peacefully initiated by Buddhist monks, in Yangon and other