Ten residents who criticized arbitrary arrests for conscription, subsequently arrested in Thaton

January 7, 2025

HURFOM: On December 28th, 2024, ten residents including a ward Administrator from Thu Wunna Wati Town, Thaton Township, Mon State were arrested by the military junta for criticizing the junta for conducting arbitrary arrests to collect conscripts.

U Paung Paung, Ward Administrator for Thane Sake, wrote on his Facebook social media account that the military junta should not arrest local young men arbitrarily and collect them as conscripts.

“The Administrator didn’t accept the practice of arbitrary arrests resulting in conscripts. He also wrote that even if the military forces him to do so, he’ll refuse the order. His friends and other business owners wrote comments under his post showing their disagreement against the practice of arbitrary arrests. They all were arrested at the same time the next night,” said a source.

The arrested victims are Thane Sake Ward Administrator U Paung Paung, the President of the Thane Za Yet Ward Union Solidarity and Development Party U Tun Nile and his son, the Headmistress of the Post Primary School Daw Aye Thidar, U Aye Lwin, U Myint Lwin, U Phoe Htaing, U Kyi Khine and U Tun Nile. Most of those arrested are owners of brick factories.

U Tun Nile and his son were released on January 1^st, 2025 but the remaining eight persons have been detained at the 9^th Military Basic Training School in Thaton.

In December, 2024, at least 30 local young men were arbitrarily arrested and then forced to become military conscripts in Thaton Township, according to local sources.

On December 25th, 2024, the junta arbitrarily arrested 30-year-old Ko Aung Myo Hline from Mottama Kywel Chan village, Paung Township, Mon State and forced him into becoming a conscript.

“There was a festival in the village and he secretly went there. He said the Puang Police Station force arrested him to become a conscript. His family is poor and no one dares to go to the station to make an inquiry,” said a source close to the case.

Written by Modinator · Filed Under News