YANGON/BANGKOK (dpa): Myanmar's military junta has started the process of gathering information from civilians following an announcement about a month ago that it would enforce a compulsory military draft law.
The junta's administrative teams are collecting data from eligible civilians in many townships and in big cities like Yangon and Naypyidaw, according to local sources and news reports.
"Yesterday, they started to send the forms for compulsory service in our township’s administrative office," Tayza, a Yangon resident told dpa.
Many parents are negotiating with officials to prevent their sons and daughters from being drafted, he added.
"But they have to pay money,” he said.
This is an opportunity for the military to extort money from the civilian population, said Lin Ko from North Dagon in the east of Yangon. "Because the parents know that their sons will be killed."
Those who could not pay are out of luck, reported the Khit Thit Media news agency. Many of those affected shared their fears on social media.
The junta announced the draft on February 10. The military, which has ruled brutally since a coup in February 2021, has recently suffered heavy losses in the fight against numerous guerrilla groups and is considered weakened.
Men aged 18 to 45 and women aged 18 to 35 can be drafted into the armed forces for two years of compulsory service. Members of certain professions, such as doctors and engineers, must serve for three years. According to the law, military service can be extended for five years in case of emergency.
The announcement immediately triggered a wave of refugees in the crisis-hit country. Since then, tens of thousands of people, especially young people, have been trying to leave, especially to neighbouring Thailand. Long queues have been forming for weeks in front of the Thai embassy's visa centre in Yangon and at other embassies
In Mandalay, two women died in a stampede outside the passport office in February. Many others are trying to enter Thailand illegally.According to the military, the law affects around 14 million citizens: 6.3 million men and 7.7 million women. Myanmar, formerly known as Burma, has a population of around 55 million. - dpa
