Reports have emerged from Thaketa Township in Yangon Region about increasing pressure and threats against young people and their families regarding military service. Township Administration Chairman Kyaw Thu is reportedly coercing families to provide replacements for young people who are currently abroad or in remote areas. The township’s military recruitment committee is calling up individuals aged 18 to 35 for the 15th batch of military service scheduled to begin in July.
The township administration is using census data to summon young people, forcing parents of those abroad to provide substitutes. These substitutes must be either relatives or other individuals, with no exceptions allowed. Furthermore, families are being made to sign written agreements acknowledging that the original candidates must serve in future military service batches upon their return. Those who fail to comply are threatened with imprisonment under the People’s Military Service Law. The administration is conducting these operations through ward administrators and auxiliary forces, carrying out arrests and forced porter service.
The township chairman is also reportedly using local criminal groups, including those involved in theft and robbery cases, for military recruitment. There are allegations that young people are being ‘sold’ to other townships for military service at prices ranging from 8 to 10 million kyats per person. The administration has enlisted local thugs like Win Htut Win and Tin Linn Htike to collect military service fees and conduct forced recruitment operations in various wards.
These local gangsters, operating under the protection of the township chairman, are using both subtle and aggressive methods to extort money from residents across all 19 wards in Thaketa Township. According to local residents, approximately 150 to 200 young people are being forcibly recruited for military service each month. The situation has created an atmosphere of fear and uncertainty among families in the township, with many young people either fleeing or going into hiding to avoid forced recruitment.
