News of the enactment of a military conscription law that could draft every man and woman at the age of 18 into the armed forces has been spreading among the general public and the young people are displeased with the law as it is not realistic with the current situation in Burma.

A group of young activists in Burma is campaigning against the conscription law as the compulsory military service will devastate the future of the young people and will recruit them into Burmese army to launch military offensive in ethnic areas.

“The news of the conscription law is now spreading among the young people. Some democratic countries around the world adopted a conscription law. But if the Burmese government wants to enact such law like other countries, they (the Burmese government) should improve the living standards of the people first. In Burma, many people are jobless and those who are the government servants, their salary is not enough to support themselves. The point I want to make is that there is a huge difference between income and expense.” said a 20 years old woman from Loikaw, Karenni State.

She continued, “Daily survival is more important for us. Therefore, it is impossible for us to serve in the military under this circumstance. If Burma became a genuine democracy oneday, we will not be hesitant to serve in the army.”

Similarly, a young Karenni woman who is working in abroad said, “It is very uncertain for me to go back to Burma now because I don’t want to serve in the armed force. I still need to work to support my family”. 

The news of the conscription law that will force every man between the age of 18 and 45 and every woman between 18 and 35 to serve in the armed forces leaked out on December 17, 2011.

Under this law, every citizen who reaches the age of 18 is required to serve the military service for two years and could be increased to five years in times of national emergency. Those who fail to report for military service could get three years in prison, a fine or both and those who deliberately inflict injury on themselves to avoid conscription could be imprisoned for up to five years, fined or both. Religious personnel, disabled persons are housewives with children are exempted from this law.

“In the countries like U.S and Thailand, where conscription is adopted to recruit the young people into army to defend their country from outside intruders, the law could be useful. But if they (Burmese government) will ratify the law to kill the ethnic people, then it is no use.”

According to some scholars, it is estimated that there are more than 500,000 military personnel in Burma. Although the conscription law has not been made public to take into effect, the news has widely been spreading and talked among the young people both inside and outside the country.

A monthly report shows that there are 105 new refugees registered in the Karenni Refugee Camp#1 during the month of January and the majority of them are young people. Moreover, there are new refugees arrived in the camp from the month of February to March, but the exact number is not concluded yet.