In Mon State, officials holding passport books are being registered, and these passports must be submitted to the respective department heads, according to sources within the military junta’s administrative circles.
During the last week of January, immigration officials attended the state education department’s monthly meeting, where the issue of passport books was discussed. As a result, township education offices were instructed to collect the necessary information.
An education official stated that the list of education personnel who have obtained passports must be submitted by February.
“If you have a passport, you must report it to your township education office. The township office will then forward the list to the Ministry of Immigration and Population,” the official explained.
However, employees have not been given clear explanations regarding this registration, and the education staff member added that those who do not comply are being threatened with disciplinary action.
If passports are indeed required to be surrendered, it would effectively mean a complete travel ban, violating individual rights, according to some employees.
Additionally, under the Military Conscription Law enacted on January 23, government employees under the military junta are also subject to conscription. This has heightened concerns among civil servants regarding mandatory military service.
The military junta is exerting pressure from multiple angles to enforce the conscription law and restrict international travel. The Ministry of Immigration and Population has also tightened regulations concerning passport applications.
“Getting a passport or a smart card has become more difficult than before. You need to go through brokers. If you don’t use a broker, they won’t process it. Even for changes to household registration, you have to go through brokers. When collecting the passport, you must pick it up in person, or they won’t hand it over,” said a young person currently applying for a passport.
In Mon State, not only ordinary civilians but also government employees are subjected to various recruitment methods for military service.
Legal experts note that military junta officials could also be drafted under the new law.
Under the conscription law, men aged 18 to 35 are prohibited from signing contracts for overseas employment. According to news reports, overseas employment agencies and the Director-General of the Department of Labour have agreed to indefinitely suspend such contracts.
As a result, the number of undocumented Myanmar workers attempting to cross the Three Pagodas Pass border has surged. In the last week of January, Thai authorities in Sangkhla Buri and Kanchanaburi reportedly arrested more than 300 undocumented Myanmar migrants.
