The Mon State Federal Council (MSFC) plans to enable young people from Mon State, fleeing from the Junta's conscription law, to engage in revolutionary activities, and has pledged to ensure their security to the best of their ability.
On February 10th, coup leader Min Aung Hlaing announced the enforcement of the conscription law, which had been enacted in 2010 under former Junta Than Shwe and had been inactive until now.
The Junta is facing diminishing control over areas and strategic military bases, due to escalating battles nationwide and a significant decrease in manpower.
Hence it has resorted to activating the conscription law, and deploying the public as human shields to safeguard the power and interests of the generals, according to MSFC’s statement.
Naing Din Pala Hong Sar, a member of MSFC, announced that his organization is committed to supporting young people who have evaded military service for the Junta by providing assistance in various aspects, including accommodation and food, and will assist them in pursuing their own chosen paths.
The MSFC member elaborated, "Accommodation and food will be arranged on a priority basis for the young people who urgently flee to us. Secondly we will thoroughly investigate their intentions and help them as much as possible. Do they want to participate in the revolution? and if so, which resistance force do they want to join? For example, whether
it is the Mon State Revolution Force (MSRF) or the People's Defense Force (PDF), we will ask them. Then we connect them to the organization of their choice. We will also provide food and accommodation for a certain period of time to the youth, who do not want to join the armed resistance as well. After that period they will be on their own. We would like to apologize in advance to explain that we can only help as much as our current resources allow.”
MSFC also urged the people to oppose the Junta's implementation of the conscription law in their own ways and, if necessary, to cooperate with ethnic armed organizations (EAOs) and resistance forces to implement pre-emptive measures.
Furthermore, MSFC emphasized that only by permanently dismantling all tyrannical systems, including the military dictatorship, can the people's freedom and welfare be truly guaranteed.
MSFC also warned that individuals and organizations aiding and supporting the Junta's conscription law against the will of the people, would be deemed public enemy war criminals and dealt with severely.
MSFC encourages young individuals who are embittered by the Junta's conscription law to unite with revolutionary forces and participate in the struggle to overthrow the military dictatorship.
