The Myanmar military has kidnapped hundreds of young men and women in Mandalay and Bagan in a turbo-charged conscription drive since the beginning of the year
As many as 237 people were snatched from the streets by the regime in seven Mandalay townships in January, monitoring group Mandalay Strike Committee reported Monday.
According to the committee, 32 were abducted in Aungmyaytharzan, 27 in Chanayethazan, 46 in Maha Aungmyay, 30 in Chanmyathazi, 35 in Pyigyitagun, 33 in Amarapura, and 34 in Patheingyi.
They included trans people, it added.
“They mainly targeted ordinary people on their way to or from work. They are dragging young people into armed conflict,” a member of the monitoring group said.
Some were arrested under the Cybersecurity Law when security personnel checked their phones for virtual private network (VPN) apps and anything deemed to be critical of the regime. Using a VPN app is punishable by up to six months in prison under the law promulgated last month.
Some were let go in return for bribes.
Resistance fighters were among those detained, and some were arrested as the regime checked households for unregistered overnight guests.
The monitoring group said several kidnap victims were ineligible for conscription, including teenagers under 18.
It urged people to delete VPN apps and any potentially problematic content from their phones before they go out.
In a flurry of kidnappings in Bagan, junta soldiers and local administrators abducted dozens of people in their 20s and 30s on Sunday and Monday this week.
“I heard locals and migrant workers were arrested. Around 15 were abducted on Sunday and between 15 and 30 on Monday,” said a Nyaung-U resident.
People who had fled fighting in Myitche town in Magwe Region’s Pakokku Township or in Myingyan Township and villages northwest of the Irrawaddy are also reportedly being targeted in checks for unregistered overnight guests.
“Many from the western bank of the Irrawaddy River have fled to Bagan. Those who can afford it have bought land, and those who can’t have rented houses. They do any job available,” a Bagan resident said. “The regime is mostly targeting those who were unable to bring the necessary documents with them like citizenship IDs and household registration certificates.”
The regime has also stepped up nighttime arrests of pedestrians in Bagan and surrounding villages under provisions in the Police Act that enable police to detain anyone who cannot satisfactorily explain their presence in a particular place between sunset and sunrise.
As gambling dens mushroomed in the temple city where junta stooges help raise funds for the regime, plainclothes soldiers conduct patrols in private cars, snatching pedestrians from the streets.
The UNESCO heritage site has drawn large numbers of domestic visitors since the travel season began in November but has received few foreign visitors.
The regime has repeatedly denied reports of forced conscription, saying they are “fake news” designed to discredit the conscription drive.
