The military council has blacklisted and restricted foreign travel for 1,022 doctors who completed their medical education between 2013 and 2020 for refusing to serve under their administration. However, doctors from military-affiliated families, including actress Phoe Ma Mi Thar, are being granted permission to travel abroad. According to medical circles, this demonstrates clear discrimination in the application of travel restrictions.
Actress Phoe Ma Mi Thar, who completed her medical education at the medical university from December 2013 to December 2020, has not served under the military council but has notably been exempted from the blacklist and maintains her ability to travel internationally. Similarly, other doctors who are children of military officials can freely enter and exit the country despite not serving under the regime. Sources indicate that those with financial means and connections to authorities are being granted travel privileges, highlighting the preferential treatment given to those with military ties.
The military council has offered to remove doctors from the blacklist if they agree to serve under the Ministry of Health. Of the 1,022 blacklisted doctors, only about 100 have entered service under the military council. The majority of doctors have expressed willingness to pay the stipulated fine of 1 million kyats as per their service agreement, but the military council has rejected these payments and maintains the restrictions. The council is also withholding medical degrees and medical practice licenses (Sa Ma) from blacklisted doctors and has banned them from pursuing further education abroad.
Out of 103,214 healthcare workers nationwide, 47,254 have joined the Civil Disobedience Movement (CDM) in opposition to the military coup. The military council continues to pressure doctors to work under their administration through various coercive measures, including blacklisting, travel restrictions, and withholding of medical degrees and licenses. These actions are part of a broader pattern of the military council’s attempts to force healthcare workers into service while punishing those who resist, though making exceptions for those with military connections.
