The military council-appointed administrators of some villages in Taungoo Township in eastern Bago Region have threatened to harm the family members of those listed for military service if they attempt to flee their homes, according to local sources.
After lists of people eligible for military service appeared in Kyauk Taing and Shan War Tee villages in Taungoo Township, the administrator of 6 Maing village on the Taungoo-Thandaung road threatened that the remaining family members of those on the conscription list would be harmed if they moved away from their homes, according to a local resident from Taungoo.
“They said we will have to draw lots every week. If the eligible person doesn’t show up, their parents have to draw the lot. In Kyauk Taing village tract, the draw will begin this Friday. The administrator has threatened that if those on the list evade without informing, their family members and parents will suffer consequences. After Thingyan, they will start recruiting young women. They have already started compiling their lists,” the resident said.
According to locals and the lists, people listed for military service are men aged 20 to 35 years, and their parents’ names are also mentioned alongside them, according to locals and the lists.
Another local, who did not want to be named, said, “The village head of Kyauk Taing village said they have already given the list of names for military service to the military. He said if those on the list don’t show up, they can come and arrest them. Our job is just to give the name list.”
Even before the military council officially announced the conscription law, administration teams and junta soldiers had been visiting Shan War Tee and nearby villages since January, registering people for military service, having them draw lots, and demanding amounts of money up to tens of thousands of kyat from those unwilling to serve in the military, according to local sources.
While the military council’s information team stated that starting from April this year, they will recruit 5,000 people per batch at a rate of 50,000 annually for military service, the forced recruitments have taken place earlier than planned across the country.
Revolutionary forces have analyzed that such forced recruitment by the military regime is both a defensive move due to their dwindling military strength to protect their interests, as well as an attempt to exploit the public as human shields.
Sent by KIC.