TNLA announces mandatory enlistment law

The ethnic armed group Ta’ang National Liberation Army (TNLA) has announced details of a conscription policy mandating that Ta’ang people within a certain age range enlist to serve in their forces. The TNLA, a member of the Brotherhood Alliance of ethnic armed organisations, has captured seven towns from the Myanmar army in northern Shan State since November, soon after the alliance launched the “Operation 1027” offensive against the military. The new TNLA policy requires all men of Ta'ang ethnicity between the ages of 16 and 35 to join their fighting force, but provides exemptions for monks, men in poor health, and men from families with two or more sons if one has already enlisted. The TNLA draft will also specifically excuse recruits found to have Hepatitis B or C, but includes no similar provisions for other diseases. The conscription also applies to women, requiring service of those from families with more than three siblings. It exempts women who serve as committee members in TNLA-connected civil society organisations, or women with at least one family member serving in this capacity. Non-Ta’ang people who support the armed organisation’s stances and aims are also welcome to enlist in the TNLA, the policy announcement said. According to an official at the Ta’ang Women's Organization (TWO), most young Ta’ang people have favourable opinions of the new draft, but there are critics among them too. Some critics argue there should be more understanding and accommodation for people facing complex family and domestic issues, according to the TWO official, while some are uneasy that the new mandate is unclear about the required duration of service. “Since this is a national issue, some young people do not object much because they feel they have to serve their people,” she said. “However, some young people have pointed out that the military service law does not state how many years one must serve.” Two TNLA soldiers in Namhkam, located on the Myanmar-China border, in early November 2023. (Photo-Myat Phat/Myanmar Now) A veteran politician from Namhkam, a town currently under TNLA control, said this law has been in development for some time and may have been announced recently to ensure Ta’ang people would be informed on the matter. He clarified that although the official policy had now been made public, there should be no misunderstanding that the TNLA was now issuing a summons for people to enlist. “After this announcement, there were no direct summons nor did they visit people's homes to recruit them for service. Indirectly, I have heard that they might implement some form of recruitment following deliberation with the villages. So far, they have not done so," the politician said. He added that he felt the TNLA should concentrate more of its efforts on persuading people than issuing mandates to recruit more fighters. Myanmar Now is still attempting to reach TNLA spokesperson Lt.-Col. Tar Aik Kyaw for comment on some of the criticisms of the conscription law. While accurate demographic numbers are difficult to determine, in January 2023 the local Shwe Phee Myay news agency estimated that some 350,000 ethnically Ta’ang people were living across 16 townships and sub-townships in northern Shan State. The TNLA’s command structure comprises seven brigades and 38 battalions, and analysts estimate that its current strength is between 8,000 and 10,000 members. TNLA fighters are equipped with modern assault rifles, and the group has access to auxiliary heavy weapons such as 60mm and 107mm artillery. In late October 2023, the TNLA and its two allies in the Brotherhood Alliance—the Arakan Army (AA) and the ethnically Kokang Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA)—launched the anti-junta Operation 1027 offensive, initially concentrating most of their attacks in northern Shan State. As the offensive continued, the TNLA managed to capture—in chronological order—the northern Shan State towns of Namkham, Monglon, Namhsan, Manton, Namtu, Mongngawt, and Kutkai by the first week of January, subsequently making efforts to establish administrative control in the towns they had seized. Education is also proceeding in these jurisdictions, with the TNLA inviting participants in the Civil Disobedience Movement—formed in opposition to the coup regime in 2021—to help them in by filling teaching and administrative positions in the towns.

TNLA announces mandatory enlistment law

The ethnic armed group’s draft policy, which requires all able-bodied youth of Palaung (Ta’ang) ethnicity to serve in their forces, does not specify the required duration of service

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