Local residents and sources in Yetarshay Township, Bago Region, have reported widespread forced military recruitment, extortion, and human trafficking activities being carried out under the direction of Major Thant Zin Wai, a member of the township administrative body. Major Thant Zin Wai, who serves as Deputy Battalion Commander of Air Defense Battalion 3032 based in Swa town, along with Township Administrative Chairman Ukka Than, is leading these operations targeting local youth for military service.
Throughout the areas of Myolae, Thagara, Swa, and around Yetarshay, villages are being required to provide between two to four young recruits monthly for military service. If villages cannot provide recruits, they are demanded to pay 12 million kyats (approximately USD 5,700) per village. Additionally, each household is being forced to pay a minimum of 30,000 kyats as a military service fee. According to local sources, these collected funds are retained by Major Thant Zin Wai and his team, while the young people who are forced into military service receive none of this money.
Military forces, police, and Pyu Saw Htee militia members are conducting day and night operations to forcibly recruit young people as porters. Villages that cannot provide military recruits can pay the specified amount, after which the military provides replacement recruits. Whether villages can provide recruits or not, they are required to pay monthly military service fees. Villages are threatened with military raids if they fail to pay, forcing communities to pool money together to meet these demands.
Furthermore, farmers and business owners in Yetarshay Township are frequently subjected to various forms of extortion and forced donations under the pretext of township development projects. These financial burdens have created significant economic hardship for local residents, while young people live in constant fear of being forcibly recruited into military service. Local communities continue to endure these oppressive conditions without any assistance, suffering under the military’s exploitative practices. The situation has created an atmosphere of fear and economic instability throughout the township, with residents having no recourse against these systematic abuses by military authorities.
