Reports from sidecar motorcycle drivers in Yangon Region indicate that military council forces are arresting drivers and pressuring them to serve as informants and recruit soldiers for the military. On March 13 at around 9 AM, plainclothes armed Pyu Saw Htee members at the intersection of Phaya Road bus stop and Zambuthiri Road in Thingangyun Township detained civilians’ sidecar motorcycles and demanded money. Those unable to pay had their vehicles confiscated, with authorities offering to return them only if the owners agreed to work as informants for the military and police or help recruit new soldiers.
According to a Thingangyun resident, the group of approximately 10 tattooed Pyu Saw Htee members appeared to be unfamiliar faces, likely from another area. Similar incidents have been reported in Dala, Hlaing Tharyar, and Dagon Myothit townships, where military and police forces are systematically targeting sidecar motorcycles as part of a campaign to pressure drivers into joining the military council’s public security groups and helping with soldier recruitment efforts. The military council is using these confiscations as leverage to expand their network of informants and increase forced recruitment.
A sidecar motorcycle driver from Hlaing Tharyar Township revealed that those who cooperate with military council forces are promised immunity from future arrests and offered official identification cards. However, they are required to help recruit young people and report any suspected People’s Defense Force (PDF) members. Those who refuse to cooperate face permanent confiscation of their vehicles, though some are given the option to pay money for their return. This systematic pressure has created a difficult situation for drivers who must choose between losing their livelihood or becoming informants against their own communities.
In Thaketa Township, the military council has already converted some sidecar drivers into informants, using them to inspect houses where young people reside and monitor those living under guest registration. This oppressive system has created an atmosphere of fear and uncertainty among sidecar drivers, who face the impossible choice between maintaining their independence and risking vehicle confiscation or financial penalties, or submitting to the military council’s demands to work against their fellow citizens. The situation highlights the military council’s ongoing efforts to exert control over civilian populations through coercion and economic pressure, particularly targeting those who rely on sidecar motorcycles for their daily income.
