Myanmar regime moves to expand forced enlistment of civilians

Myanmar’s military junta says it plans to introduce a new security system requiring men aged 35 to 60 to serve as guards, in the latest expansion of its efforts to forcibly recruit civilians. The move, which follows the formation on August 16 of a new supervisory committee on national public security, comes six months after the regime’s decision to implement a conscription law drafted more than a decade ago. Under the People's Military Service Law, men aged 18 to 35 and women aged 18 to 27 are required to serve three to five years in the military. Some 25,000 new recruits have completed training since the law went into force in February. On Sunday, junta leader Senior General Min Aung Hlaing informed officials in Mandalay of a plan to introduce a new “security system with public participation” in a bid to bolster the regime’s defences against its opponents. “If people participate in [this] public security system, it will help improve peace and stability as well as rule of law,” the junta-controlled Global New Light of Myanmar newspaper quoted him as saying. Speaking the same day, junta spokesperson Major-General Zaw Min Tun told the BBC’s Burmese-language service that men aged 35 and older who are not eligible for conscription will be recruited for rotating guard duty under the new system. Those under 35 who were found medically unfit or who postponed their conscription will also be called up, he added. Cities at risk Since seizing power in February 2021, the military has repeatedly sought to bolster its strength by recruiting civilians. Its first efforts involved the formation of “people’s militias,” known as Pyu Saw Htee, in areas predominantly populated by Myanmar’s ethnic Bamar majority. After facing more than three years of unprecedented armed resistance, however, the military continues to suffer heavy losses, most notably to ethnic armed groups in northern Shan State and Rakhine State. But as these offensives weaken the regime’s hold over border regions, even major cities such as Mandalay have begun to look increasingly vulnerable to incursions by anti-junta forces. Soldiers and junta-appointed administrators conduct a search in Yangon’s Lanmadaw Township in 2021 According to residents of Myanmar’s second-largest city, junta-appointed administrators have already begun organising groups to provide security for potential targets of resistance attacks. “The ward administrators are informing us about who will be involved. They say each neighbourhood will have about 30 people,” said one resident. This comes as the Mandalay People’s Defence Force and other groups operating under the command of the shadow National Unity Government continue to advance towards the city from both the north and the south. This activity also threatens Naypyitaw, the junta’s administrative capital, which is already under high alert due to the threat of groups based in Bago Region to the south. Security outposts have been set up in at least 30 villages in Naypyitaw’s Lewe Township, which borders Bago Region, since February. Each one is staffed by up to five civilian guards and is overseen by junta troops and Pyu Saw Htee members. ‘No one will be spared’ According to a source involved in implementing the new public security system in Lewe, efforts are already underway to expand the use of civilians in security roles. “We were told to prepare a list of names for recruitment,” said the source, adding that orders to prepare for the new system were issued on August 23. Similar instructions have been received by officials in Naypyitaw’s Zabuthiri Township, where one source close to local administrators suggested it was possible that new recruits could be assigned to other positions in the future. “For now, it’s only for guard duty. It’s unclear whether they will be deployed to the frontline later,” the source said. A resident of Zabuthiri expressed concern about the use of household registration cards for recruitment, noting that residents are required to present the cards to receive rationed cooking oil distributed by junta authorities. “They claim recruitment is voluntary, but if no one volunteers, they will select people based on the household registry,” he said. In other areas, there is also fear of what the new measures will mean for civilians already under immense pressure from the regime. “We’ve heard that guard duty is imminent, but we haven’t received any details yet. All possible exits have been closed off. No one trapped here will be spared, regardless of age,” said a resident of Mayangone Township in Yangon. For members of the resistance, the move is just another sign of the regime’s growing desperation. “They are losing the war and can't defeat the anti-junta forces. This seems like an attempt to pit the public against each other,” said a member of a Mandalay-based resistance group.

Myanmar regime moves to expand forced enlistment of civilians

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