Burma’s military junta announced on Wednesday that it will conscript 60,000 young men and women into military service each year under a new conscription law, with recruitment starting after the country’s traditional April festival marking the start of the new year. Announced.
The conscription was activated on Saturday by the order of the ruling party’s military council chairman, Senior General Min Aung Hlaing.
His surprise announcement comes as the military comes under growing pressure from pro-democracy armed resistance groups that emerged after the military seized power from the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi in February 2021, leaving it exhausted. It seemed to confirm what he was doing.
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There are no reliable figures on the size of the Burmese army. The CIA World Factbook estimates that the CIA had approximately 150,000 to 400,000 personnel last year. The Washington-based US Institute of Peace suggests that 21,000 military personnel have been lost to casualties, desertions, and defections since the military occupation, bringing the effective strength to about 150,000.
Under this law, men between the ages of 18 and 35 and women between the ages of 18 and 27 can be conscripted into the military for two years. Some occupations, such as doctors and engineers, have high age limits of 45 for men and 35 for women, and terms of office are three years.
In a statement sent to reporters, Military Intelligence said 5,000 people would be called up and trained every month. It is said that women will be called up from the fifth team.
Burmese military officers march during a parade in Nay Pyi Taw, Burma, March 27, 2023. On February 14, 2024, the Burmese military government announced how to implement the newly enacted military conscription law. (AP Photo/Aung Shine Oo, File)
Military junta spokesman Maj. Gen. Zaw Min Tun said in a statement published in the state-run Myanmar Alin newspaper that about 14 million people (6.3 million men and 7.7 million women) out of the country’s population of 56 million person) stated that he/she is eligible. For military service.
He told the BBC’s Burmese-language broadcaster on Tuesday that the first 5,000 conscripts would be called up immediately after the traditional Thingyan New Year celebrations in mid-April.
According to social media posts and private conversations, the conscription law is creating fear, anxiety and rebellion among young people and their parents. Some are considering fleeing the country, fleeing to border areas dominated by ethnic minorities, or joining resistance groups.
Evading conscription is punishable by three to five years in prison and a fine. Members of religious orders will be exempt, but civil servants and students will be granted a temporary reprieve.
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The military government also invoked a reserve law that requires veterans to serve in the military for an additional five years after retiring or retiring.
Burma’s Shadow Unity Government (NUG), the resistance’s leading political group, declared in a statement on Tuesday that citizens do not have to abide by conscription laws, calling the announcement illegal. The NUG appealed to the people to strengthen their participation in the revolution. The NUG claims to be the country’s legitimate government.
“It is clear that the military regime is hopeless after suffering severe and humiliating defeats across the country,” the statement said. “The government is now forcing Burmese civilians to fight and serve as human shields in a horrific war it has waged against its own people.”
