The military council has blacklisted 1,022 doctors who completed their medical education at universities across Myanmar between December 2013 and December 2020, denying them their medical degrees and licenses to practice medicine, as well as restricting their rights to travel abroad or pursue further education. This action was carried out under Min Aung Hlaing’s orders by Health Minister Thet Khaing Win and the Director General of Human Resources for Health, Tin Tun.
These doctors began their medical education in 2013 at various medical universities throughout Myanmar, completing their studies including internships in December 2020. Following the military coup on February 1, 2021, nearly 50,000 healthcare workers from the Ministry of Health joined the Civil Disobedience Movement (CDM). When the military council ordered the 2020 graduates to work under their administration, the majority refused. During their initial enrollment, these medical students had signed an agreement stating that if they chose not to serve as government employees for three years after graduation, they would need to pay a compensation fee of 1 million kyats.
However, the military council is now refusing to accept the 1 million kyat compensation payment and instead has blacklisted these doctors, preventing them from receiving their degrees and medical practice licenses, effectively blocking their future careers. Of the 1,022 blacklisted doctors, only about 100 have chosen to work under the military council, while the majority are willing to pay the agreed compensation of 1 million kyats, but the military council continues to deny this option, deliberately destroying their professional futures. The upcoming medical degree ceremonies in mid-March will exclude these blacklisted individuals, with degrees being awarded only to those serving under the military council.
Doctors have urged the National Unity Government to issue degrees and graduation certificates for the nearly 1,000 blacklisted doctors, and have called for international health organizations to assist with their continued medical education. Out of 103,214 healthcare workers nationwide, 47,254 have joined the CDM in opposition to the military dictatorship following the coup. This situation demonstrates the military council’s ongoing efforts to punish healthcare professionals who refuse to work under their administration, despite these doctors having completed their education before the political crisis began and being willing to fulfill their contractual obligations through the agreed-upon compensation payment.
