In Burma, conscription sparks panic

Promulgated on February 10 by the Burmese military junta for all men aged 18 to 35, it caused panic in Burma: thousands of Burmese have since tried to leave the country or join the resistance. “In Yangon, a Thai embassy had to be established (February 21) A system to limit the number of visa applicants to 400 per day through electronic registration. In the beginning there were thousands of people, people waited until nightfall”A young pro-democracy activist from this Burmese town, explains, is one of the few still left in a small group decimated by arrests. He wants to be known by the nickname “Robert”.

Six million men belong to this age group in this country of about 55 million inhabitants. The junta clarified, on 1^er March, that women were not currently affected by this compulsory military service. People who are studying, taking care of elderly parents or undergoing medical treatment will benefit “Temporary Suspension”. Which doesn’t reassure anyone: the army has an infamous reputation for engaging in forced conscription.

The measure is still a sign of weakness. Bleeding from attacks by the armed resistance, hated for the February 2021 coup and the abuses that followed, the Burmese armed forces are struggling to recruit.

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The stated objective is to enroll 5,000 people per month, all profiles combined. That’s 60,000 people every year. The military junta issued a law dating from 2010, but was never implemented: paradoxically, the transformation of a professional army into a conscript army was always rejected by successive junta, keen to cultivate the loyalty of their soldiers.

“forced recruitment”

For its part, the Underground Resistance Government (NUG) announced this recruitment “illegal” and promised his assistance to those who wished to reach the Maquis. Many young people choose to leave the country, often without a visa: some Countries in the region offer a fifteen-day exemption for Burmese tourists – at the risk of later finding themselves illegal.

“The problem is that many young people do not have passports. However, the junta put in place an electronic identity card system in 2023. Before, everything was manual. From now on you have to register your biometric data, which is required to get a passport. But if you have any protest-related activity, or have been arrested, you don’t get it.”, Robert continues. The implementation of electronic identity cards was presented by the junta as necessary to hold elections – a state of perpetual instability prevented them from organizing.

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