Myawaddy Television under the Junta’s control, announced the enforcement of the conscription law on February 10th, mandating compulsory military service for adult men and women in Myanmar.
The decree, signed and approved by coup leader Senior General Min Aung Hlaing himself, mandated the Junta's Defence Ministry to release necessary bylaws, procedures, announcements, orders, notifications, and instructions to implement the law.
The 'People's Conscription Act' mandates that men aged 18 -35, and men aged 18- 45 in specific professions, as well as women aged 18 - 27, and women aged 18 -35 in certain professions, must serve in the military.
The law defines ‘profession’ as encompassing individuals who work as doctors, engineers, industrialists, or in any other occupational capacity.
Exemptions from military service include religious workers, married women, divorced women with children, individuals with permanent disabilities in any part of the body,
those deemed unfit for military service by the Junta's medical examination board, and those granted exemption by the People's Conscription Central Committee.
The legislation mandates that citizens within the designated age brackets must undergo military service for up to two years , with an extended period of up to 3 years for those in specified professions. The law also grants the government authority to prolong military service to 5 years in the event of a declared state of emergency in the nation.
The law specifies that individuals who fail to report for military service without a valid reason may face a sentence of imprisonment of up to three years, a fine, or both.
The law stipulates that individuals who feign disability, intentionally attempt to infect themselves with a disease, or deliberately induce malfunction in their body parts to evade military service can face a maximum sentence of five years in prison, a fine, or both.
The Military Council has implemented the conscription law amidst facing setbacks and losing control of numerous towns and bases to anti-coup armed resistance movements, which are rapidly spreading across the country.
Military analysts said that success of 'Operation 1027', initiated in northern Shan State in late 2023, fueled resistance movements nationwide and inflicted significant manpower losses on the Military Council. This has triggered a desperate recruitment campaign with their forces depleted by so many defections, surrenders and defeats.
