Mon State Civilians Face Arbitrary Extortion and Forced Recruitment Under Junta’s 13th Conscription Campaign

May 1, 2025

In Mon State, the military junta and its appointed local administrators are ramping up efforts to forcibly recruit civilians and extort money under the pretext of military conscription. These actions are tied to the regime’s plan to launch the 13th round of People’s Military Service training, with local authorities across townships beginning to collect money from individuals through coercion.

Following the enactment of the junta’s conscription law, residents of Mawlamyine, Paung, Mudon, Thanbyuzayat, Kyaikmayaw, Ye, and Kyaik Hto townships report an uptick in street-level arrests targeting young men. Junta-aligned forces are detaining youth in both public spaces and private homes — often at night — and sending them to military training camps, citing “security concerns.”

A resident in Mawlamyine described events on the morning of May 1:

“They went door to door in some neighborhoods collecting money for the 13th round of military training. In certain areas, local administrators held community meetings, saying households must either send a recruit or pay — MMK 10,000 for some homes, and up to MMK 20,000 for others. The quarter and village tract leaders are pressuring people aggressively.”

This forced payment scheme is being described by many locals as arbitrary extortion. Those who do not comply — especially youth within the eligible age range — are threatened with immediate enrollment. Some communities have received verbal warnings that those refusing to “volunteer” will be summoned and forcibly taken.

Field sources confirm that those being conscripted include people arrested at night, street detainees, suspected drug users, and others coerced into service through local administrative networks. In some cases, youth have been handed over as part of quotas or recruitment deals between local officials and the junta.

As a result, many young people across Mon State are attempting to flee to neighboring countries. However, some have been intercepted and conscripted at border checkpoints, as the regime continues to enforce its People’s Military Service Law, enacted on January 23, 2024, which bans international travel without official junta permission for those of military age.

In addition to forced recruitment, residents report that local administrators are demanding monthly payments from communities, claiming the money is used to “secure substitutes” for conscription. Those accused of breaking local curfews or minor infractions have also been sent directly to training camps.

Despite widespread public fear and resistance, the junta officially began its 12th conscription training in Mon State on April 22, according to military-aligned propaganda outlets. A group of newly conscripted youth were reportedly visited by Mon State Chief Minister U Aung Kyi Thein on April 21 at the Southeastern Command’s Military Education School No. 6.

The People’s Military Service Law was originally introduced in 2010 under former dictator Than Shwe. The current military leadership revived it in February 2024, escalating fears of mass forced conscription nationwide.

HURFOM has documented that, between training batch 1 and batch 12, over 2,300 civilians from Mon State have been forcibly recruited. As batch 13 begins, both forced recruitment and extortion disguised as military contributions continue to devastate vulnerable communities.

Photo: HURFOM

Written by HURFOM · Filed Under News