Next Monday marks the first anniversary of the Myanmar junta’s enforcement of the Conscription Law, which sparked a mass exodus of young people and led to misery for countless others.
The regime has moved quickly to enforce the law and drafted an estimated 45,000 men in nine batches within a year. Some 35,000 were sent to the frontlines across the country to fight against resistance groups and ethnic armed organizations (EAOs).
Many conscripts were killed on the frontlines, and many others defected to resistance groups. Thousands of young men and women are leaving the country to evade conscription in any way they can.
Here The Irrawaddy traces the major steps the regime has taken since Feb. 10, 2024.
Feb. 10, 2024 —The military regime activates the national conscription law, making it mandatory for the country’s young adults to serve in the military for two to five years.
The law dates back to 1959, when it was created by General Ne Win, and was amended in November 2010 by then-dictator Than Shwe. It was, however, never enforced under Ne Win, Than Shwe, Thein Sein’s quasi-civilian government, or the since-ousted National League for Democracy government.
The regime announces that 14 million of the country’s young people are eligible for conscription. That amounts to 26 percent of the country’s population of 54 million. The first group of 5,000 conscripts will be selected after the Myanmar New Year holidays in April, and women will not be drafted in the first few batches, it says.
Evading conscription is punishable by three to five years in prison and a fine. Pretending to be sick or disabled to evade conscription is punishable by five years in prison.
Feb. 13, 2024 —Amid widespread concerns among members of the public, the regime forms a national-level committee overseeing conscription. The committee is headed by Defense Minister Tin Aung San, with Chief of Staff (Army, Navy, Air) Maung Maung Aye, the No. 3 man in the Myanmar military, serving as deputy chairman.
In Naypyitaw on the same day, junta boss Min Aung Hlaing and his deputy Soe Win meet leaders of 42 political parties that have registered for the junta’s proposed poll, to explain the conscription law. Min Aung Hlaing justifies the law by saying it is solely intended to maintain national security, and peace and tranquility.
The regime also sponsors rallies in support of the conscription law in more than 30 towns across the country.
Feb. 14, 2024 —The regime forms regional-level committees overseeing conscription in Naypyitaw and other regions and states. It also enforces the Reserve Forces Law, which allows it to send veterans back to the front line.
Feb. 15, 2024 —The junta boss summons Myanmar ambassadors and chargés d’affaires to Naypyitaw to explain the conscription law to them. He asks them to thoroughly study the conscription law and Reserve Forces Law and explain to the governments of their host countries why they are necessary for Myanmar.
Feb. 17, 2024 —The regime launches a conscription propaganda campaign—complete with posters, fliers, pep talks and threats—as it tries to present a more attractive view of mandatory military service.
At left, an official from the junta’s General Administration Department gives a talk about the conscription law to residents of Mandalay Region’s Ma Hlaing Township. / MOI At right, junta sympathizers stage a rally to show their support for the conscription law.
Feb. 19, 2024 —Two women are killed in a pre-dawn stampede at the Myanmar passport office in Mandalay, as thousands of people attempt to squeeze into a line to apply for passports in order to leave the country and avoid conscription.
Feb. 26-27, 2024 —The junta’s propaganda papers feature articles and interviews intended to persuade university students to join the University Training Corps (UTC), which acts as a reserve for the military’s depleted ranks.
The junta newspapers say that many generals, including regime boss Min Aung Hlaing, are former UTC members.
At the same time, the regime is forcibly conscripting Rohingya people in western Myanmar’s Rakhine State. Human rights activists accuse the regime of attempting to use Rohingya as human shields.
Feb. 28, 2024 —Junta defense minister and chairman of the national-level committee overseeing conscription General Tin Aung San meets in Naypyitaw with Marcoluigi Corsi, UN Interim Resident Coordinator for Myanmar and Interim Humanitarian Coordinator for Myanmar, to discuss the newly enforced conscription law, as well as steps to prevent child recruitment in the Myanmar military.
March 4, 2024 —Tin Aung San tells a meeting of the national-level committee overseeing conscription that the regime has already prepared venues for military training.
A working committee led by the judge advocate-general of the Myanmar military has produced a third draft of a law spelling out the conscription rules, and adopted standard operating procedures for conscription in collaboration with the junta’s Ministry of Legal Affairs, he tells the meeting.
March 11, 2024 — Deputy junta leader Soe Win tells a budget meeting that the proposed fiscal 2024-25 budget includes funding for conscription. FY2024-25 starts April 1.
March 13-14, 2024 — Township-level committees overseeing conscription distribute call-up papers in Naypyitaw and Yangon, telling eligible individuals to report. In some towns, potential draftees are chosen by lot.
The National Unity Consultative Council and National League for Democracy launch a petition drive asking Myanmar people at home and abroad to oppose forced conscription. The petition will be submitted to international bodies including the United Nations.
In late February, the civilian National Unity Government also threatened legal action against anyone who cooperates with the regime’s effort to impose mandatory military service, warning that those who cooperate with the conscription drive could face charges under the Counter-Terrorism Law for abducting civilians to be used as forced labor in Myanmar’s military. The same applies to those who cooperate with the regime to force civilians to undergo military training, it says.
At left, a registration summons sent to eligible conscription candidates. At right, a registration form for eligible conscription candidates.
March 26 – Junta Defense Minister Gen Tin Aung San and Marcoluigi Corsi, UN interim resident coordinator for Myanmar, meet again in Naypyitaw to discuss the progress in the implementation of the national conscription law, and evacuation of UN employees from Rakhine, where the regime and the Arakan Army are fighting.
March 27 – At a military parade to mark the annual Armed Forces Day, Min Aung Hlaing says the conscription law and reserve forces law will boost the country’s defense forces. The parade is scaled back, indicating a serious personnel shortage.
Junta soldiers provide military equipment to recent recruits drafted under the conscription law. / Pro-junta Telegram channel
March 31 – A 27-year-old Muslim man from Taikkyi Township in Yangon Region who was chosen by lottery to be conscripted into the Myanmar military dies after being taken for military training at a battalion in Mingalardon Township four days earlier. Family members are told that the man died of epilepsy at Mingalardon Hospital.
April 1 – Min Aung Hlaing attends the 77th anniversary of the Myanmar military’s propaganda department, officially known as the Directorate of Public Relations and Psychological Welfare, in Naypyitaw, where he urges the department to instill patriotism in draftees and give special attention to boosting the morale of military personnel.
April 2 – Deputy junta chief Soe Win visits Combat Training School in southern Shan State’s Ba Htoo Town, where he urges instructors and trainees to thoroughly study the conscription law and reserve forces law, and to drum up support for mandatory military service in regions where they would be stationed.
Tin Aung San tells a meeting of the national-level committee overseeing conscription that military training for the first intake of conscripts will begin in April, and the bylaw for conscription has been submitted to the junta’s Legal Affairs Ministry, pending approval from the cabinet.
April 8 – The regime begins basic training for conscripts at military bases and schools across the country. Training takes place in Naypyitaw, Mandalay, Bago, Tanintharyi and Magwe regions, Shan and Mon states, Hopong Township in Pa-O Self-Administered Zone, and training schools in respective regional commands.
Recruiters attend the opening ceremony for the first batch of military training under the conscription law on April 8. / Cincds
The regime previously claimed that more than 10,000 people had voluntarily enlisted, and 5,000 people would be drafted in the first batch. But it did not mention the exact number in the first intake.
The same day, people stage a protest against the conscription law in Yangon.
May 13 – Deputy junta chief Soe Win meets officials at the office of the Yangon Region Government and accuses independent media outlets of acting against the interests of Myanmar and spreading false news about the conscription law to cause public panic. The regime is implementing the law as per its legal framework, he insists.
Junta-appointed Yangon Region Chief Minister Soe Thein says eligible people are being drafted systematically. Yangon Region accounted for the largest number of conscripts in the first intake in April, according to junta spokesman Major General Zaw Min Tun.
Members of the second batch of military conscripts undergo an opening training session in eastern Shan State on May 14, 2024. / Pyithusitt
May 14 – Training of the second batch of military conscripts begins at junta regional commands, including those in Yangon, Mandalay and Bago regions, Shan State, and the Pa-O Self-Administered Zone. Junta media however do not mention how many young men were drafted for the second intake.
The regime previously said that around 5,000 people would be drafted in each intake, and that it would start conscripting unmarried women aged between 18 and 27 starting from the fifth intake.
May 20 –Chief of the General Staff (Army, Navy and Air ) General Maung Maung Aye (now Defense Minister) warns at a meeting of the central conscription body that those who dodge conscription face three years in prison and fines under Section 23 of the conscription law.
Maung Maung Aye, who is also the deputy chairman of the central conscription body, urges chairmen of recruitment bodies in Naypyitaw, states, and regions to meet the recruitment target for batch 3, as there were difficulties in meeting the targets in the previous two batches.
June 25 – Military training for the third batch of conscripts begins at regional commands.
June 28 – Amid intense fighting in northern Shan State as Operation 1027 resumes, the conclusion ceremonies of the military training of the first batch of conscripts take place at regional commands. They began their training in April and completed it in less than three months, and now they are being sent straight to the frontlines.
Aug. 5 – The fourth batch of military training starts at regional commands two days after the junta’s Northeastern Command in northern Shan State’s Lashio fell into the hands of the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA). There are reports of conscripts defecting on the frontline.
Aug. 16 – The regime forms a Central Supervisory Committee for Public Security and Counter-Terrorism to oversee the deployment of men over 35 for security duties in their neighborhoods and regions, with Lt-Gen Tun Tun Naung as chairman and deputy ministers of defense and home affairs as vice-chairmen.
The move aims to force men over 35, who are exempt from mandatory military service, into the security apparatus. During a visit to Mandalay on Aug. 25, Min Aung Hlaing stresses the need for public participation in the public security system to bring about peace and stability.
Sept. 9 – Training of the fifth batch of military conscripts begins at seven regional commands. Junta-controlled newspapers report on Sept. 10 that graduates from previous batches are now serving in various regiments and units.
In an exclusive interview with The Irrawaddy, Arakan Army (AA) chief Major-General Tun Myat Naing notes that the regime has dispatched many conscripts to the Rakhine front, where the AA is making rapid gains, and that many conscripts have been killed in recent clashes.
October – The sixth batch of military training kicks off at regional commands.
Amid heavy military defeats in Rakhine, the regime steps up forced recruitment in both urban and rural areas, snatching young men from the streets, their homes, bus terminals, and buses.
Nov. 7 – At the seventh coordination meeting of the central conscription body, its chairman, Defense Minister Tin Aung San (now the Prime Minister Office’s Minister) tells conscription bodies to take action against those who fail to report for duty after registration, those who do not show up after passing their medical exams, and those who fail to complete their training.
Nov. 26 – The regime launches military training for the seventh batch.
Dec. 23 – Less than a month after launching the seventh batch, the regime starts training the eighth. Three days earlier, the regime lost Rakhine State’s Ann Township and its Western Command to the AA.
2025
Jan. 20 – The ninth intake of conscripts begins training.
From April to December 2024, the regime trained eight batches of draftees. In the later batches, the number of people forcibly recruited was much higher than those who enlisted under the conscription caw. Since the regime set a target of 5,000 recruits per batch, by the ninth batch it could have rallied around 45,000 soldiers.
Jan. 23 – The regime issues stricter regulations for the conscription law nearly a year after it was enacted.
Under the bylaw, those who have previously completed their military service may be recalled to the frontline if deemed necessary by the regime. Those selected for military conscription who have passed medical examinations and are on waiting lists to attend training are barred from leaving the country without prior approval from the central conscription body.
It also states that civil servants will be subject to military service and will either receive their current salary or one based on their new military role. Administrators must submit lists of eligible persons annually on Dec.1. The bylaw also threatens family members of draft dodgers with penalties. It also states that conscription awareness activities must be incorporated into the curriculums of basic education schools.
Jan. 27 – The regime reports that it has punished the township police chief and two staff members of the General Administration Department in Sagaing Region’s Shwebo Township for enabling individuals to avoid military service in exchange for bribes of 13 million kyats (around US$2,800).
In reality, in various regions and states, administrators and administrative officials involved in the conscription drive have made fortunes, demanding bribes up to 10 million kyats from those seeking to avoid military service since the recruitment process started.
Around the same time, The Irrawaddy publishes an investigative report about the junta’s forced recruitment of Myanmar citizens in Tanintharyi Region’s Kawthoung who were deported from Thailand as illegal immigrants.
Jan. 28 – During a meeting of the central conscription body, Maung Maung Aye admits that junta personnel have extorted money from those wishing to avoid military service.
He says action is being taken against those involved and warns ward and village administrators and township conscription bodies against bribery.
He also announces that a new National Service Information Management System (NSIMS) aims to monitor and control millions of men aged 18-35 and women aged 18-27 who are eligible to serve in the military under the conscription law.
Jan. 30 – The ninth batch of conscripts begin military training. The regime starts compiling lists of eligible women in Yangon Region, causing panic and forcing many to leave the country. The regime previously said it would recruit women starting the fifth batch.
Jan. 31 – The regime suspends foreign employment contracts for men aged 18 to 35 for an indefinite period. The directive is only internally circulated to overseas employment agencies and labor offices.
According to the Rangoon Scout Network, which reports on anti-regime activities in Yangon, there were approximately 200 cases of kidnapping related to the conscription law in January in Yangon, with nearly 500 young people detained. The Mandalay Strike Force reports that 237 individuals were forcibly conscripted in Mandalay during the same month.
Feb. 3 – Five groups including the civilian National Unity Government issue a statement condemning forced conscription, stating that it causes regional instability. They warn that it disrupts people’s socio-economic lives and increases domestic and international displacement. The following day, Singapore’s Ministry of Manpower urges local employment agencies to look elsewhere for workers as the regime has banned conscription-age citizens from leaving Myanmar.
Feb. 10 – The conscription law marks its one-year anniversary.
