A 30-year-old man named Ko Aye Ko, residing in Ward 17 of South Dagon Township in Yangon Region, was deceived by ward administration officials who promised to help him obtain a national ID card, only to be forcibly recruited into military service by the army. This incident, which occurred on June 30, represents one of many cases of forced military recruitment by the current military council. Ko Aye Ko, who lived in a squatter settlement and belonged to an economically disadvantaged community, was lured to the ward administration office with the promise of receiving a national ID card, which he did not possess.
Upon arriving at the ward office, Ko Aye Ko found military personnel waiting for him, and he was immediately forced onto a military vehicle. His family was not informed of his whereabouts, but it was later learned that he would be required to attend the 15th batch of military training scheduled to begin in July. This deceptive recruitment of impoverished citizens without ID cards into military service represents a serious human rights violation by the military council. The practice of using administrative offices to trap vulnerable citizens has become increasingly common as the military council struggles to maintain its forces.
The military council has been conducting monthly military training sessions since April 2024, now reaching its 15th batch. They employ various methods to recruit young people for military service, including distributing leaflets, applying pressure through ward administrators, using deceptive practices, and conducting forced recruitment. These forced military service practices violate international laws and human rights standards. The military council’s tactics particularly target vulnerable populations, using their need for official documentation and services as leverage for recruitment, demonstrating a systematic approach to exploiting the poor and undocumented residents of Myanmar.
