In Yangon, the military council has issued an order requiring each village and ward to provide at least two military recruits per month, threatening township military recruitment committees with penalties if they fail to meet the quota. According to the directive from the Central Military Recruitment Committee, township recruitment committees across all regions and states, including Yangon Region, must mandatorily collect two recruits monthly from each ward and village within their jurisdiction.
For example, if a township contains 30 villages, it must provide 60 recruits per month, and if it has 20 wards, it must supply 40 recruits monthly. Township recruitment committees that fail to meet these prescribed quotas are being summoned by their respective regional and state governments for warnings and are required to sign warning agreements at the Chief Minister’s office. The situation has become increasingly desperate as more than 15 rounds of recruitment have already been conducted, nearly exhausting the pool of vulnerable individuals such as alcoholics and drug users in townships and wards.
Most ward administrators are attempting to collect military service fees and find substitutes within their wards, but locating replacements has become increasingly difficult. The committees face warnings and penalties if they fail to meet the monthly recruitment quotas. Township recruitment committees are collaborating with local police, Pyu Saw Htee groups, and military forces to search for and arrest potential recruits. They are conducting guest registration checks, motorcycle license inspections, and arresting individuals with VPN installations on their mobile phones.
Those arrested are being transferred to the military through township recruitment committees. Additionally, the committees are actively recruiting young people detained at police stations for various offenses such as public intoxication, loitering, pickpocketing, and fighting. Township recruitment committees that fail to meet the monthly quota three times face consequences including suspension of township administrative officers and ward/village administrative team members from their duties and denial of promotions. This systematic forced recruitment campaign represents a significant escalation in the military council’s efforts to bolster its forces through coercive measures against civilians.
