Junta authorities in Mon State are using the conscription law to collect and extort money which is being used to support regular junta soldiers and junta-affiliated militias.
Residents of Mawlamyine City, the Mon State capital, have told staff of the southern Myanmar based civil society organisation (CSO) the Human Rights Foundation of Monland (HURFOM) that junta-appointed ward administrators in Mawlamyine Town have been collecting 10,000 to 20,000 MMK per month from every household under the pretext that the money will go towards supporting conscripts. They have threatened those who do not contribute with conscription.
Nai Aue Mon, a programme director at HURFOM said: “What’s really happening is that this money isn’t just for supporting conscripts. It’s also being used to cover the costs of food, uniforms, and even ammunition for regular soldiers and junta-backed militia groups. In other words, the public is being forced to pay under a system the junta created, making it seem like they have no choice but to cover these expenses. This amounts to an abuse of the conscription law, basically a form of extortion.”
He went on to explain that between 4 and 7 July 2025 the junta summoned Mawlamyine City ward administrators to meetings where they put them under pressure to collect monthly payments from the public, recruit more conscripts and get additional funds from businessmen and affluent households.
This has led to some households being forced to contribute hundreds of thousands of MMK, according to Nai Aue Mon.
He said: “Ward administrators already know which households are well-off or wealthy. They go after those families for extra conscription support funds. People running stores or other businesses also usually get hit with a higher amount. Some households end up having to pay hundreds of thousands of MMK every month.”
Administration officials of all ranks are involved in this extortion, from ward administrators to general administration officials, and regional army commanders.
As junta troop numbers have become depleted fighting the resistance it has increased its abduction and conscription of young men in the Mon State townships of Mawlamyine, Paung, Mudon, Thanbyuzayat, Kyaikmaraw, Ye, and Kyaikto.
In Mon State the junta has also been conscripting people arrested for drug use and crimes such as theft and robbery.
Once a person has been taken by the junta for conscription the only way they can get out of serving is if they can pay the junta authorities between 3.5 and 5 million MMK, according to HURFOM.
Since the conscription law came into effect on 10 February 2024, the junta has already conscripted approximately 2,000 young men from Mon State, with some going voluntarily and others being abducted and forced to serve. They have been conscripted in 12 batches and of those batches, the first nine have completed their training and been deployed to the frontlines.
