22 June 2021
The locals reported that the village administrators in some viallges of Wahkema township, Myaungmya district, Ayeyarwaddy region, ordered the villagers to draw lots of new recruitment through the instruction of the Military Council, and forced to give MMK 2.5 lacks if such person chosen by lot refused to join recruitment.
One local said that the village administrators from seven villages of Wahkema township ordered male villagers to join military recruitment. However, since most of them did not want to join, the administrators forced them to draw lots for selection process. Again, the chosen person by lots still did not want to join so finally the administrators asked money as mentioned in above.
“The people have to draw lots in some villages. The villagers chosen by lots neither wanted nor dared to join military recruitment. At that time, the administrators told them to pay MMK 2.5 lacks to 3 lacks in order to substitute with other persons and such money would be used for hiring them. Now one of my friends had been chosen by lots and then he had given MMK 2.5 lacks as the village administrator ordered.”
The local added that the administrators declared that the substituted persons would be supported MMK 3 lacks and also there were a lot of people who were interested in such amount of money.
The locals reported that such kind of military recruitment started in early June in many villages of Wahkema township but no one had known which Ballation was recruiting. The locals are concerned upon such kind of recruitment.
The locals were told that the recruited people would serve as People’s Militias, the Military Council would give military training for them and such trainees would protect their own villages after training period.
According to the village administrators and those close to them, the Military Council did not order to collect money but the administrators themselves were arranging to collect MMK 3,000 per household in order to support the substituted persons as a compensation.
“One administrator told me that he did not or could not collect money but arranged to support around MMK 20,000 or 30,000 for the substituted persons as a compensation. He added that he could not collect money as he wished. If so, he might be captured,” one local reported to KIC.
Until now, such kind of recruitment has occurred only within Wakhema township and no similar news have been heard in other townships of Ayeyarwaddy region.
Political Analysts point out that since there is no law in Myanmar for compulsory military service, the Military Council’s recruitment is illegal and such kind of recruitment without the consent of civilians is obviously violating the human rights. Former military governments also recruited through illegal means.
Sent by
KIC