Myanmar Spring Chronicle – February 2 Update
MoeMaKa, February 3, 2025
The Impact of the Conscription Law
Nearly ten months after the enforcement of the Conscription Law, nine rounds of conscription have been carried out, totaling approximately 45,000 recruits. The military junta claims that each round consists of 5,000 conscripts. However, on the battlefield, there have already been casualties among those forcibly conscripted, though the exact number of injuries and deaths remains unknown.
In Myanmar, with a population of 54 million, the recruitment of 5,000 people per round may not seem like a significant number, but it is neither negligible. To meet this quota, the junta has increasingly restricted opportunities for young men to leave the country. Reports have surfaced in recent days that men aged 18 to 35 are now being prohibited from traveling abroad for work, heightening anxiety among young males in the country.
University students attending junta-controlled institutions are also worried about the risk of being forcibly recruited on the streets. This fear has led many to avoid traveling between cities unless absolutely necessary.
According to a previous census conducted by the junta, there are approximately 13 million people eligible for conscription, including both men and women. If the junta aims to recruit 60,000 conscripts annually, this translates to one in every 216 eligible individuals. Currently, women are not being conscripted, so if only men are targeted, the ratio would be approximately one in every 100.
However, the junta has never had full control over the entire country, even before the coup. In the nearly four years since the coup, it has lost control over large swathes of territory. As a result, the junta is primarily recruiting from the areas it still controls, where it can barely manage to gather the required 5,000 conscripts per round. Meanwhile, ethnic armed groups in their respective territories are also enforcing their own conscription policies, meaning that recruitment efforts are happening under different authorities depending on the region.
With the junta having lost control of nearly half of Myanmar’s 90 major towns and vast territories, the actual recruitment rate stands at approximately one in every 50 people. Prior to the coup, millions of Myanmar nationals were already working abroad. Since the coup, economic hardship has intensified, and many have fled overseas due to the conscription law. This exodus has increased the likelihood of remaining young men being forcibly recruited.
Initially, the junta attempted to entice recruits with salaries of 470,000 kyats per month and voting rights, but as the conflicts in Rakhine and northern Shan escalated, coercion became the primary method of recruitment. Reports indicate that Rohingya refugees in displacement camps are being forcibly recruited under various pretexts, while Myanmar nationals deported from Thailand are also being sent directly into military service.
Local administrators, police stations, and military units are all exploiting the conscription law for extortion, demanding bribes in exchange for exemption. Restaurant workers and tea shop staff must pay at least 400,000–500,000 kyats, while wealthier families are forced to pay anywhere from millions to hundreds of millions of kyats to secure exemptions, further exacerbating the suffering of war-affected civilians.
In junta-controlled areas, including major cities like Naypyidaw and Pyinmana, young men are at constant risk of arbitrary arrest and forced conscription. This daily threat has turned forced recruitment into a widespread fear, with many families focusing solely on finding ways to protect their sons.
If the conscription law had been enforced in peacetime, it might not have caused such widespread evasion. However, in the midst of an ongoing civil war, where various ethnic groups are actively fighting against the junta, being conscripted means facing imminent danger and losing all personal dignity. This fear has driven widespread efforts to escape conscription at any cost.
Parents, fearing their sons could be sent to the frontlines and killed within months, are doing everything possible to help them flee, whether by spending their life savings or taking out loans. In today’s Myanmar, for many families, the priority is no longer their own safety but ensuring their children can escape forced military service—even as they continue to struggle for survival amidst war and chaos.