HURFOM: Nearly 300 young men in Mon State have been collected for the Junta’s upcoming 19th conscription training batch, according to announcements from the military’s conscription commission. The new recruits are being held at a basic training school under the Southeastern Command, based in Mawlamyine, Mon State.
On 14 November, members of the Mon State administration appointed by the conscription commission visited the training school to meet those who have been gathered for the new intake. Community sources say many of the recruits did not join by choice.
Those being forced into military service include young men who were substituted by others through ransom payments, people handed over after being unable to pay bribes, drug users arrested in police operations, those arbitrarily detained, men who received conscription summons, and many who were seized during night-time raids and street round-ups.
“A lot of the people they arrest for drug use are now being sent to military service. These days, they are doing more night-time arrests and dragnet operations,” a local man told HURFOM.
Sources close to the conscription system say that once these young men finish their short training, many are sent directly to frontline areas, where casualties are high. As a result, there has been a rise in deserters and in those who attempt to escape to Thailand to avoid the fighting and forced service.
From batch 1 through batch 18, nearly 4,120 conscripts have already been gathered from Mon State alone. On average, the Junta is collecting around 250 to 300 new soldiers each month. People close to the commission warn that young men in Mon State no longer feel safe to travel or move around freely, and many live in constant fear, always on alert that they could be taken next.
