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Mizzima
In the third week of February, Myanmar’s Military Council apprehended more than 400 Rohingya men in Rakhine State, purportedly for compulsory participation in military training, as reported by people involved in addressing the Rohingya crisis.
Ro Nay San Lwin, co-founder of the Free Rohingya Coalition, verified that over 300 Rohingya men were detained from refugee camps and various villages in Sittwe Township, along with over 100 from four villages in Maungdaw Township.
“It appears that the State Administration Council (SAC) is forcibly seizing Rohingya to employ them as human shields, rather than risking their soldiers’ lives on the frontline against the Arakan Army (AA). That seems to be their underlying motive,” said Ro Nay San Lwin.
A Rohingya man in Sittwe Township said, “A few days after the village administrators organised for the people to attend the people’s militia training, the junta troops escorted the Rohingya with a military vehicle.”
Ro Nay San Lwin also added that currently, the ward and village administrators have been instructed to compile a list of Rohingya in Maungdaw Township.
“As the Military Council faces setbacks in its conflict with the Arakan Army (AA), it is resorting to diverting public attention from the battles by inciting racial and religious tensions and violence,” Ro Nay San Lwin remarked. The AA would not approve of the Rohingya joining the junta army.
He added that the junta troops are pressuring village administrators to provide at least 50-100 Rohingya per village, depending on the population, to participate in the people’s militia training.
The junta troops are reportedly enticing Rohingya by promising to issue Identification Cards (ID cards), offering 50,000 Kyat, or guaranteeing a monthly salary of 150,000 Kyat after completing the people’s militia training.
Under the guise of people’s militia training, the junta troops are conducting military training for Rohingya at their camps. Concerns among Rohingya in Rakhine State about being forcibly conscripted into militia training are echoed by those assisting with the Rohingya crisis.
The Military Council has declared the enforcement of the Military Conscription Law, mandating all adult men and women in Myanmar to serve in the military.
Subsequent to the announcement, numerous reports have surfaced across Myanmar of junta troops conscripting porters, while social networks are frequently filled with reports of missing persons.
Furthermore, the military regime has instructed ward administrators in various townships to identify people for militia training, and presently, the junta is apprehending Rohingya for compulsory participation in the people’s militia training.
As per the Conscription Law, men between the ages of 18 and 35, or professionals such as doctors, engineers, industrialists, or individuals engaged in other vocations between the ages of 18 and 45, are required to serve in the military. Similarly, women aged between 18 and 35, or those in professions like doctors, engineers, industrialists, or other vocations between the ages of 18 and 35, are also obligated to serve in the militar
