Drafted by Desperation
With many junta troops losing on the battlefield, surrendering, defecting, or putting up very little fight, the junta’s human resources have been depleting day by day, and the junta is on the verge of being vanquished.
The recent surge in the Myanmar military’s forced conscription underscores its growing desperation as it struggles to defeat the increasingly stronger armed resistance of the people’s revolution. The military’s forced conscription has reached an even more alarming level, with tens of thousands of individuals, including children, being forced into military service and sent to frontline battles. This further destroys communities, as individuals are forcibly taken from their families and coerced to fight a war of terror inflicted by the junta’s ongoing desperate attempt to grasp power. As this continues to escalate, Myanmar’s neighboring countries must fulfill their international obligations and provide legal protection to those escaping the junta’s forced conscription and atrocities.
Since February 2024, the military junta has carried out forced conscription in many different forms as a last resort to refill its ranks as it has suffered devastating territorial and personnel losses to the resistance forces across Myanmar. In addition to that, it has struggled to find more youth to recruit, while many have defected to the people’s revolution since the junta’s illegal coup attempt in 2021. Under these circumstances, the junta has been forcing men aged 18 to 35 and women aged 18 to 27 into military service in a sadistic move to pit Myanmar’s people against one another and collectively punish those who refuse to bow to military boots. Around 25,000 new forced recruits over three batches have completed their training and been sent to the frontlines as junta troops and forced to fight their own compatriots.
It came as no surprise that, due to the junta’s forced conscription, a great number of young people have been fleeing the country or seeking refuge in resistance-controlled liberated areas. The Thai Government has announced the arrest of more than 144,000 Myanmar citizens over the past three months. In response, the junta is turning its focus to older generations as it aggravates the forcible recruitment to unprecedented levels. The junta is now forcing men aged 35 to 60 to serve as local security guards at the village and ward levels as part of deceptively named “People’s Security Teams”. This move once again highlights the junta’s habit of bending beyond its limits and making up nonsense out of thin air to obfuscate its war of terror against the people.
No one is tricked here; the so-called Security Teams are nothing more than the junta’s fraudulent justification to expand its repressive measures. Essentially, the majority of Myanmar’s workforce is now at exponentially graver risk of forced conscription. They are left with almost no options: either flee and face arrest, torture, or death if deported by neighboring countries, or submit to military service, serve the military that is causing their people’s suffering, and fight a war against their own fellowmen of the revolution.
No one is safe from this ferocious and desperate act of the junta. Myanmar workers deported from other countries have now become one of the major groups targeted by the junta, facing immediate forcible recruitment upon their forced return. For example, on 7 August, the junta forcibly conscripted nearly 60 Myanmar workers who were repatriated from Thailand after serving their sentences in Ranong Prison for illegal entry and stay. This action demonstrates the junta’s ruthless tactics to gain power at the expense of people’s lives, particularly those who are defenseless.
In addition, there have been several reports of individuals being detained at Myanmar airports on the pretext of insufficient documentation. In the first week of August, a worker from Mon State, en route to Singapore for work, was arrested and detained by the military junta at Yangon International Airport, and his family has lost contact with him since the arrest. Moreover, the junta has instructed that every overseas worker must apply for an Overseas Worker Identification Card but has simultaneously prohibited young men in the 23-25 age range from applying for the card. Meanwhile, this illegal forced conscription is being exploited by the junta through corruption at different levels and in many different forms—mainly involving extortion of money from civilians—causing further economic hardship for families.
All of these tactics accentuate the military junta’s mounting fear of its institutional collapse. Forced conscription being the junta’s last resort is no understatement. The junta has consistently lost control of Myanmar’s territory to resistance forces, as seen in recent losses in Lashio, northern Shan State. With many junta troops losing on the battlefield, surrendering, defecting, or putting up very little fight, the junta’s human resources have been depleting day by day, and the junta is on the verge of being vanquished. Still, its desperate attempt to seize power continues to have devastating effects on the lives of Myanmar people. The new conscripts are being forced not only to fight for the junta on the frontline but also to die while serving as human shields, porters, minesweepers, and many other fatal roles.
In response to this worsening ordeal, Myanmar’s neighboring countries must make concerted efforts to alleviate the suffering of people fleeing from Myanmar by providing legal protection and humanitarian assistance, with the support of the international community. Respect for the principle of non-refoulement must be guaranteed for those seeking refuge in neighboring countries. In tandem, the international community must act swiftly with concrete measures to support the Myanmar people’s efforts to end the decades-long chapter of military tyranny and establish a new federal democracy that ensures peace and equality for all communities.
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[1] One year following the 1988 pro-democracy uprising, the former military junta changed the country’s name from Burma to Myanmar overnight. Progressive Voice uses the term ‘Myanmar’ in acknowledgement that most people of the country use this term. However, the deception of inclusiveness and the historical process of coercion by the former State Peace and Development Council military regime into usage of ‘Myanmar’ rather than ‘Burma’ without the consent of the people is recognized and not forgotten. Thus, under certain circumstances, ‘Burma’ is used.
Resources from the past week
Statements and Press Releases
Myanmar’s Dawei Watch reporters sentenced to 20 years and life in prison
By Committee to Protect Journalists
By Confederation of Trade Unions Myanmar
Dawei Watch သတင်းသမားနှစ်ဦး နှစ်ရှည်ထောင်ဒဏ် ချမှတ်ခံရမှု ထုတ်ပြန်ချက်
By Dawei Watch
By India For Myanmar
Myanmar: Two journalists killed in junta raid
By International Federation of Journalists
Justice for Myanmar reveals global network enabling Myanmar military’s use of ATR aircraft
By Justice For Myanmar
By Justice For Myanmar
By Permanent Mission of Myanmar to the United Nations
By Permanent Mission of Myanmar to the United Nations
By Political Prisoners Network – Myanmar
Myanmar: RSF appalled by junta’s killing of two journalists
By Reporters Without Borders
Seven years after genocidal attacks, world must act to stop new atrocities against the Rohingya
By UN Special Rapporteur on the Situation of Human Rights in Myanmar
Reports
By Fortify Rights
Breaking Away: The Battle for Myanmar’s Rakhine State
By International Crisis Group
By Justice For Myanmar
By Karen Human Rights Group
Behind The Wire: Impacts of State Containment and Exclusion Strategies on Rohingya
By Medecins Sans Frontieres
By Shan Human Rights Foundation
By Shan Human Rights Foundation
Progressive Voice is a participatory, rights-based policy research and advocacy organization that was born out of Burma Partnership. Burma Partnership officially ended its work on October 10, 2016 transitioning to a rights-based policy research and advocacy organization called Progressive Voice. For further information, please see our press release “Burma Partnership Celebrates Continuing Regional Solidarity for Burma and Embraces the Work Ahead for Progressive Voice.”
