Myanmar Spring Chronicle – August 25 Scene
(MoeMaKa) August 26, 2024
The Military Council’s Proposal for National Security and Counterterrorism Structure
More than two years after the military coup reignited the flames of civil war, the military council has sought to revitalize the dormant 2010 law requiring all citizens to perform military service. Alongside this, they are pushing to establish a “People’s Army” composed of citizens who don’t have full-time responsibilities. This reflects their attempts to recover the military’s depleted strength.
In 2010, before the elections and before the previous military government (SPDC) handed over power, Senior General Than Shwe enacted this law. Although it wasn’t enforced at the time due to lack of necessity, two years after the 2021 coup, the current military leader, Min Aung Hlaing, has resurrected the law, rapidly initiating recruitment drives under it. The law mandates that all men aged 18 to 35, and professionals up to age 45, must serve in the military. This has led to a widespread exodus of young people to neighboring countries over the past six months. While some have joined the People’s Defense Forces (PDF) or remained cautiously within the country, others have sought refuge abroad as migrant workers or in temporary settlements in neighboring countries.
In countries not afflicted by civil war, conscription laws are generally seen as unproblematic, with citizens willingly fulfilling their national duties under elected governments. However, Myanmar’s current situation is starkly different. The country is engulfed in civil war, with widespread opposition to the military junta. Citizens face the dilemma of either being conscripted into a military that is widely viewed as illegitimate and abusive or fleeing to avoid this fate. Many who are forced into military service face significant risks, with a high likelihood of death, especially as the military suffers increasing losses on the battlefield.
Since February, tens of thousands of young people have fled Myanmar, leading to a significant loss of youthful labor. The military council’s latest attempt to form village-based security and counterterrorism forces, named the “National Security and Counterterrorism Force,” seems to be a last-ditch effort to defend their regime. The plan involves recruiting individuals under the 2010 law, with a target of conscripting 60,000 people annually. Despite these numbers, the morale and combat readiness of these recruits remain questionable. Some who were conscripted earlier this year have already been deployed to the front lines against ethnic armed groups and PDFs.
Even with monthly recruitment drives, the military has consistently faced losses in every battle since May, raising doubts about whether the conscription law will be the savior the military council hopes for. The next phase involves recruiting men aged 35 to 65 for village defense, but it is uncertain how effective this will be in stemming the tide of military defeats. There’s also the risk that these newly armed village defense groups might defect to the PDFs or ethnic armed organizations when they arrive to seize control of the towns and villages, or worse, supply them with arms and ammunition.