The Pa-O National Army (PNA), the armed wing of the junta-aligned Pa-O National Organisation (PNO), is pressuring residents of a village in Nyaungshwe Township, southern Shan State, to register for militia membership cards. Sources familiar with the situation alleged that the move intended to secure increased funding from the junta.
Residents of Thapyaykone Village are being pressured by the PNA to obtain militia membership cards.
Sources close to senior PNA officials said the real purpose of requiring locals to register for the cards is to show the junta that its membership has increased and to secure greater military subsidies. However, residents fear that militia cardholders could later be conscripted.
“The village elder said the junta would not conscript those who register for the militia card, but no one believes that. Everyone is worried now. In the Pa-O community, when the PNO orders something, it’s customary for people to comply without daring to refuse. Still, we don’t trust the guarantee that militia cardholders won’t be drafted. In the past, some people were called up for military training despite being assured they would not be conscripted,” a Thapyaykone villager said.
All men aged 18 to 35 in Thapyaykone Village were instructed at a village meeting on February 10 to obtain militia membership cards. They were also told that PNA officials would later check whether they had complied with the directive.
The PNA has been promoting propaganda claiming that militia cardholders can travel freely across Shan State without needing a driver’s license.
A source close to Nay Win Tun, the PNA’s deputy commander-in-chief, said the PNA would not collect money from the public for militia registration.
“The PNA won’t be collecting money from the villagers this time. There were complaints about fees in the past, so it has decided not to charge for registration now. But it has already told locals that next month it will collect money for the supply fund,” he told NMG.
The PNA arranged military training for locals in Thapyaykone Village in 2024. In February 2025, it held a military parade with over 8,000 personnel.
It also takes salaries from locals for conscripts drafted by the junta. As a result, Thapyaykone villagers face extortion by the PNA under various pretexts, including community levies and conscription funding.
