Conscription Pressures Intensify for Locals in Thanbyuzayat Township, Mon State

July 16, 2025

HURFOM: Residents in Aung Kutho Ward, Thanbyuzayat Township, Mawlamyine District, Mon State, are facing growing pressure as the military Junta tightens enforcement of its nationwide conscription law. Local administrative teams are being instructed to deliver a predetermined number of conscripts for each military intake, resulting in heightened fear and uncertainty among communities.

According to local sources, authorities have announced that, starting July 18, 2025, conscription will be determined through a lottery system.

“They told us that anyone who draws number one must report immediately,” said a 50-year-old woman from Aung Kutho Ward, Thanbyuzayat Township, Mawlamyine District, Mon State.
“In Aung Zeya New Ward, those who drew number one on July 5 were already taken away.”
Local administrators are also reportedly collecting monthly fees ranging from 10,000 to 50,000 Myanmar Kyat MMK per household to help pay for substitutes. However, due to a growing shortage of available replacements in Thanbyuzayat, conscription teams have started directly targeting eligible Mon youth from the first batch.

Sources close to the township administration say the Junta is deliberately focusing on the most vulnerable sectors of society—urban poor, drug users, and even previously convicted individuals—to fill conscription quotas. These forced enlistments are often driven by money-based negotiations, where people are bought and sold as substitutes.

Families are left with few choices. “My son is living abroad,” said a 35-year-old mother. “But he drew number one in the conscription lottery. The officials told me that if he doesn’t return or send a substitute, our home will be sealed off, he’ll be blacklisted, and labeled a fugitive.”

The junta has made it clear that there are no exemptions to conscription. As a result, young people—particularly men—are fleeing urban centers and villages in increasing numbers, seeking refuge abroad. Meanwhile, the Junta is expanding restrictions and surveillance to prevent them from escaping.
In Thanbyuzayat, conscription lotteries are held monthly. The fear of being drawn, especially for those abroad, has torn families apart and deepened the anxiety of daily life.

According to a military observer, the Junta is reportedly aiming to recruit around 5,000 conscripts per batch nationwide. To meet this target, arrests and forced recruitment have escalated, leaving thousands of families in limbo, uncertain of their future under a regime that continues to treat civilians as expendable.

Written by HURFOM · Filed Under News