Thousands seek to leave Myanmar due to military service

Last week, the Myanmar military said it would enforce a law allowing all men aged 18 to 35 and women aged 18 to 27 to serve for at least two years.

Myanmar's military government faced widespread armed resistance from insurgent groups after taking power, and has recently suffered a series of heavy losses against armed coalitions of ethnic minority groups.

Thousands of people seek to escape from Myanmar after military service announcement photo 1 — People queue to apply for visas at the Thai Embassy in Yangon. Photo: AFP

The Thai Embassy in Yangon has been flooded with young men and women applying for visas to leave Myanmar since it was announced last Saturday that the "People's Military Service Law" would come into effect.

On Friday, an AFP journalist saw a queue of between 1,000 and 2,000 people moving through the streets near the embassy in downtown Yangon – compared with fewer than 100 people before Saturday's announcement.

The Thai embassy said it was issuing 400 numbered tickets a day. Student Aung Phyo, 20, said he arrived at the embassy at 8pm on Thursday and slept in his car before starting to queue around midnight.

“We had to wait for three hours and the police opened the security gate at around 3am and we had to run to the front of the embassy to try to find a place to get the card,” said Aung Phyo.

The conscription law was enacted by the previous administration in 2010 but was never used and it is unclear how it will be enforced now.

No details have been given about how those called up will serve, but many young people don't want to wait to find out.

“I will go to Bangkok on a tourist visa and hope to stay there for a while,” Aung Phyo said. “I have not decided yet whether to work or study.”

Kaung Kaung, 22, said all the hotels near the Thai Embassy were packed with people wanting to apply for visas and he started lining up at 2 a.m. “When the security gate opened, we ran like we were running a marathon,” Kaung said.

The lack of information about the new military service program adds to the anxiety of those who may be affected.

“When I heard about this military service law, I was shocked,” said 20-year-old student War War. “I asked around to see if it was true or just a rumor, and when we confirmed it was true, most of us were scared.”

She said many of her friends are now asking about joining anti-coup groups, the People’s Self-Defense Forces (PDF). “Young people in Myanmar have lost their dreams and this law makes them more traumatized and scared,” she said.

Zaw Myo, 25, said the announcement only made the future bleaker in a country whose economy was already struggling because of civil war.

“This military service law is another stepping stone to destroy the country. Most of the companies, restaurants, businesses are run by young people. If there are no young people in the country, most of the businesses will close down,” he said.

Mai Anh (according to CNA, AFP)

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