On February 10, 2024, the military junta or State Administration Council (SAC) promulgation of forced conscription law marked one year old and thus it is time to make assessment on how it has been affecting the society as a whole.

Generally speaking, the anti-conscription law launched by the anti-junta National Unity Government (NUG) hasn’t be effective enough, even though violent resistance from the people and anti-junta groups has taken place in many areas, as the junta is able to go on with with its recruitment to the dismay of the population.

According to The Irrawaddy February 10, 2025 report, 17 million people are eligible, of which 6.3 million are men and 7.7 million are women, within the age bracket of 18-35 for men and 18-27 for women receptively. For those with specialist expertise the recruitment age are 18-45 for men and 18-35 for women respectively.

Reportedly, the ninth badge recruitment is said to reach the total of 45,000 new cannon fodders for the military junta.

However, according to Human Rights Now (HRN), which is an international human rights NGO based in Tokyo, Japan, with UN special consultative status, released titled, “Status of human Rights & Sanctions in Myanmar, December 2024 Report”:

“On December 5, Radio Free Asia reported that officials are arresting young people and demanding ransoms from their families to spare them from forced conscription. The cost to free a family member from conscription is reportedly more than USD$3,000—and the junta official often keeps the money. Civilian Peoples Defense Forces (“PDFs”) also allege that junta affiliated militias are also engaged in these ransom schemes. On December 16, the Irrawaddy reported that families are unable pay a bribe to relieve their sons of forced conscription in Yangon. One resident of Yangon reported that unlike in previous conscription rounds, bribe “‘deals are no longer available. Instead, the junta forces are aggressively selecting as many healthy young men as they can from each ward.’” This aligns with MDY Revolution’s statement that in Mandalay, the junta no longer accepts bribes to free conscripts.”

While the junta is doing everything to realize its forced recruitment to fill the projected quota, its recruitment enforcers are meeting a lot of resistance in a lot of places.

Recently, two administrators and a woman who were forcing people to serve in the military in Gyobingauk and Letpadan townships of Bago Region were killed, local residents and the defense forces told Radio Free Asia (RFA).

On February 25, U Kan Myint, the administrator of Gwe Kaung Pin Village in Gyobingauk Township, and his wife were shot in their home by the Hero guerrillas of the Gyobingauk Hero guerrillas of the 3801th Battalion, Company 5 of the Tharyawaddy District Battalion.

Similarly, U Than Oo, the administrator of the Hmaw In Group in Letpadan Township, was shot by the 3802nd Battalion, Company 2 and 3 of the Tharyawaddy District Battalion on February 24 as he was riding a motorcycle towards Letpadan Town, the defense forces said.

According to RFA, 108 ward and village administration members who were involved in recruiting, enumerating, and demanding money for military service were killed between February and September 2024, after the military service law was passed.

Data of suicidal wave

Still this forced conscription has devastated the social fabric so much so some couldn’t find the way out and finally have to opt for committing suicide as a way out.

The TM Media, dubbed recently now as “Think Media” which is run by a freelance journalist Thein Myat, the former BBC reporter, reported the tragedy in his YouTube outlet titled, “Young people who lost their lives due to the winning of bad luck lottery,” on February 24, 2025.

Winning of bad luck lottery is affirmation to become soldier or enlisted men in the Burma or Myanmar army, which no one wants to do it.

In his about 16 minutes long video podcast part of the episodes he portrayed the today’s tragedy of the youth are as follows:-

The suicide cases that I’m about to reveal are based on confirmed narratives of the local people and various media outlets.

• On March 16, 2024, a youth named Aung Thura Oo who’s 26 years old of Ayeyawaddy Division, Kangyidaung Township, Yedwinchauk Village committed suicide by taking poison because he won the bad luck recruitment lottery, according to the confirmation of the locals. Since he didn’t agree to the forced conscription law and also couldn’t fight against the anti-junta revolutionary groups, he had chosen to protest using suicide as a means to demonstrate it. He died the following day on March 17 night at Pathein Hospital. There are lots of way to protest, like protest on the street, sit-in movement, hunger strike, and so on. But committing suicide is the strongest form of protest.
  
• On the same day on March 16, a youth who was from a village in Phyabon Township, barely 18 years old committed suicide by drinking pesticide substance because he won the bad luck recruitment lottery. The parents were told by the authorities to cover up the tragedy and the name of the village. The youth mother was said to be shock and disoriented due to his death.
  
• In the same vein, in Ayeyawaddy Division, Pantanaw Township, Kyongdaing Kale Village Tract a youth who won the bad luck lottery and committed suicide by drinking poison, according to the locals. The villagers staged demonstration but the police together with the administrators cracked down on it, said the locals.
  
• On March 18, 2024, in Thanlyin Township three youths from the same household won the bad luck lottery which angered the father so much that he beat up the head of the administrator, cracking his head and ran away with the whole family.
  
• On the same day March 18, a 24 years old youth Maung Hthet Wai Aung hanged himself in the middle of the night as he received the winning lottery of bad luck to serve in the junta’s army as cannon fodder.
  
• A youth of 20 years old from Dawbon Town of Yangon Division won the bad luck lottery to serve in the junta’s army and was taken away forcefully by the authorities. The grandmother of the youth, 65 years old was so taken aback that she killed herself by jumping from an old bridge in Dawbon on March 20, 2024.
  
• On March 28, 2024, Yangon Division, Thinganjun Township administrative authorities claiming that youths of 10 have won the bad luck lottery, of which they haven’t even participated in the drawing of lottery, came to arrest them. All were able to run away, except two who were unable to escape.
  
• In a house, due to her son and son-in-law won the bad luck lottery a mother tried to killed herself with a knife, in which the people around were able to prevent it from happening. But she nevertheless ran against the wall head-on to kill herself.
  
• Besides, during the month of March and April 2024, three youths one from Aingmae Town, one from Yankin Township, one from Laputta Township have committed suicide according to the locals.
  
• On March 30, 2024, a youth of Baik Town, about 30 years old Ko Soe Min Naing hanged himself to death (probably he was summoned to serve in the army).
  
• On March 28, 2024, Ko Soe Min Naing of Baik Town, Tong Byaw Ywar Nge Village hanged himself west of his house at the village stream after returning from the town for medical check up for conscription into the junta’s army, which he was supposed to represent the community for a sum of payment. He went to the town on March 26 and returned on March 28 evening. He wasn’t seen since then until he was found on March 30 following the search for him by the locals. Nobody knows what he learned from the recruitment center.
  
• On April 9, 2024, a young man of 25 years old Ko Aye Chan alias Kauk Kauk won the bad luck lottery and was so frustrated he began drinking a lot of alcohol. Eventually he hanged himself to death. He was survived by two children and a wife.
  
• A Muslim youth Nge Ko Ko Latt of Taikgyi Township, Melaung Sakhan Village was summoned to serve in the army and died after four days, at Mingladon Hospital. It wasn’t clear why he died but his friends said he was tortured to death, as was in good health when he was taken away.
  
• The story of Aung Lin Naing is particularly heart-breaking. He was from Kyaukpadaung Town, Hsaik Htaing Village Track, Htauk Shar Village and son of U Saw Htay and Daw Mya Yee. He won the notorious bad luck conscription lottery on March 21, 2024. Although he wanted to run away his family didn’t agree for fear of retaliation on them from the junta. Thus he hanged himself on the same day leaving a sort of suicide note for taking his life. He said that he knew that taking one’s life is a sin in Buddhism and that he would have to repay with many reincarnated lives. But he rather not fight for the junta that he hated to the core against the revolutionary forces, which he considered to be his friends. He left behind a cheroot and a prayer beads or Japamala, together with his suicide note.
  
• Finally, on February 4, 2025, a 19 years old youth of Shwe Nyaung Town, of southern Shan State, committed suicide by hanging himself on a tree near to a factory that produced wooden blocks to be placed under the railway lines, for all to see his protest. He won the bad luck lottery of conscription for the military training batch 10 earmarked for February 15, 2025.

(NOTE: The unofficial translation from Burmese video podcast is done by this writer. Any error concerning the translation is solely the responsibility of this writer.)

Forced Conscription under International Law

But let us look at the forced conscription controversy a bit nearer.

“Conscription refers to compulsory military service. The issue is treated differently depending on whether the conscription is compelled by the government or a nonstate actor. Under international law, conscription is viewed as an exercise of a state’s sovereignty, and no provisions of international law prohibits it. For nonstate armed actors (rebels/paramilitary/extremist groups), forced conscription is always a violation, similar to involuntary servitude or abduction, because nonstate actors do not have the same privileges as a sovereign state. Recruitment by nonstate actors must always be voluntary, and free of any and all coercion,” according to Forced conscription under International law. Syria Justice and Accountability Centre.

Despite its sovereign privileges, the state may still violate an individual’s rights by compelling military service in certain cases. The following situations may be considered examples of violations:

• Picked up arbitrarily without any conscription order/notice
• Sent to fight without any opportunity to appeal the conscription order (no due process)
• Given an extreme ultimatum: either fight for the state or die/be tortured
• Sent to fight when suffering from a serious medical issue or disability
• Recruited as a child

Analysis

Looking at the given facts concerning forced conscription controversy, one couldn’t help to ponder which party has legitimacy and which party not, especially in Myanmar’s political context.

The junta controlling big cities such as Yangon, Mandalay and the likes may assert itself of having legitimacy, in which some UN member states comply to and even some UN agencies still dealing with the junta’s regime. But countrywide, more than half of the country’s territories are under the control of the anti-junta resistance groups, which are made up of ethnic-democratic alliance.

On the other hand, the UNGA don’t recognize either the junta SAC or the opposition NUG. But still keep U Kyaw Moe Htun, who support the NUG, as Myanmar’s UN Ambassador even though with limited function.

Thus, it is not clear which party owns the sovereign state privilege in relation to the forced conscription law internationally.

But one thing is clear, the conscription or recruitment forcefully by any party, without doubt, has devastated the country’s social fabric and traumatized the whole population. In other words, the personal conviction of the vast individuals who don’t want anything to do with the fighting or dying for it, hasn’t been taken into account and are pushed to the brink to choose sides. This is actually human rights violations and breach of rights to self-determination either as an individual or a group.

Moreover, the junta has no legitimacy or rights to forced or blackmail the whole population using forced conscription law, as this isn’t a foreign invasion war but internal conflict. It is all the more hard to swallow when the junta considered the civilian population as enemies, both under the anti-junta opposition groups or under its oppression rule, to force them fight for its regime’s survival.

Clearly, the suicide data has shown that the junta has the most responsibility in traumatizing the population, leading to the devastation of social fabric which may be hard to repair even if by chance the country could come out of this man-made catastrophe and abyss.