Military junta bans men from going to work abroad
This move follows the imposition of compulsory military service in February on men up to 35 years and women up to 27. In the last three months, 100,000 men have applied for expatriation and many others have fled to Thailand to avoid the draft.
Yangon (AsiaNews) – Myanmar’s ruling military junta has banned men eligible for the draft from going abroad to work, the Ministry of Labour announced. The measure came into force two days ago.
This step comes after conscription was imposed in February for men aged 18 to 35 and women aged 18 to 27 following mounting losses and defeats by the regular army in the country’s ongoing civil war. Since then, at least 100,000 men applied to leave.
Nyunt Win, permanent secretary of the Ministry of Labour, said the measure did not apply to those who had already been granted permission to leave.
“Those who already got the approval are exempt from this ban. When we will lift it depends on prevailing circumstances. That’s all I can say for now,” he explained.
An unnamed source told Myanmar Now that during a meeting prior to the announcement, the labour minister “complained that too many youths were leaving the country to avoid the conscription law,”
The United States Institute of Peace estimates that the Myanmar army has just 130,000 soldiers at most, and that only about half are combat-ready.
For experts, conscription is a desperate attempt to boost troop numbers, which have been progressively reduced over more than three years of fighting.
With the onset of civil war in the wake of the February 2021 coup, when the military ousted the government led by Aung San Suu Kyi, thousands of Myanmar citizens fled abroad, seeking work primarily in Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, South Korea, and the United Arab Emirates.
Before the introduction of conscription, the military regime, short of cash as well as manpower, had already introduced two economic measures that penalised migrant workers.
In order to send remittances home, they are required to use official channels for at least a quarter of their salary (at an unfavourable rate). Failure to comply with will lead to a three-year travel ban on migrant workers after they return.
What is more, migrant workers have to pay taxes on their foreign income, resulting in double taxation since migrant workers are already required to pay income taxes in their host country.
With the travel ban, everyone “has lost their hope for the future," said a man set to leave for Japan speaking to the BBC. “There are no job opportunities within the country and now they've also forbidden us from leaving the country. Are we not allowed to do anything?" he added.
In recent weeks, many men of military age have fled to Thailand thanks to the gains of resistance forces, who took control of Myawaddy, a major border trading post, only to lose it after two weeks.
About 15,000 people fled during the fighting, seeking refuge in monasteries and makeshift camps along the Moei River, which separates Myanmar from Thailand.
According to the United Nations, at least 2.6 million people have been displaced by the conflict.
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