Reports suggest that Myanmar’s military junta will now prohibit men who are eligible for military conscription from going abroad for work, in an effort to reduce the number of young people trying to avoid the draft.
According to Myanmar Now, Nyunt Win, the permanent secretary of the Ministry of Labor under the military administration, revealed the implementation of this ban. He mentioned that the ban may be lifted depending on the circumstances and those who have already received approval to work abroad will be exempt.
A source present at a meeting between Labor Minister Myint Naung and representatives from employment agencies in Yangon on April 30 informed Myanmar Now about the possible policy change. The minister expressed concerns about the increasing number of youths leaving the country to evade conscription.
This move, if confirmed, is a response to the junta’s efforts to bolster its forces after facing setbacks in Shan and Rakhine states. The People’s Military Service Law allows for the conscription of men aged 18-45 and women aged 18-35 for up to two years, extendable to five years during emergencies. The junta aims to draft 5,000 recruits in each batch, with the second batch already being summoned.
The new policy presents young individuals in Myanmar with the choice of serving, facing imprisonment, or finding ways to avoid conscription. Given the widespread opposition to the military regime, many have opted to leave the country, either through legal channels or by crossing borders illegally.
This crackdown on evading conscription has also led to corruption, as some administrators accept bribes to exempt eligible individuals from the draft. The ban on overseas employment is seen as a repressive measure with potential unintended consequences, such as driving more people to attempt illegal crossings or join resistance groups.