Reports suggest that the military junta has been pressuring and threatening local administrators who are unable to recruit civilians for the Public Security and Counter-Terrorism Task Force.
Since early August, the military junta has been using local administrators in Ye, Beelin, Kyaikto, and other townships in Mon State to forcibly recruit villagers for the task force.
“There are threats. If the administrators can’t find enough people, the military will show up. They’ve made that clear,” said a source close to the junta in Ye Township.
Currently, the junta is conducting public security training for those recruited under this pressure in Ye, Belin, and Kyaikto townships, according to local reports.
In other townships, administrators are also being forced to gather civilians for security duties, and those unable to meet the recruitment demands are being verbally harassed, said a source close to the administrative office in Mudon Township.
“No one wants to attend the training in Wae Kalee. If they don’t get enough people, the military scolds the administrators, accusing them of failing to do their job. They’ve even told some to resign if they can’t meet the quotas,” the source added.
The military junta formed the Central Supervisory Committee for Public Security and Counter-Terrorism on August 16 and has since been pressuring local authorities to recruit men between the ages of 35 and 65 to join township, ward, and village-level security forces.
Meanwhile, several Mon groups, including the New Mon State Party (NMSP), the Mon State Federal Council Defense Department (MSFC-DoD), the Mon State Revolutionary Force (MSRF), and the Mon State Defense Force (MSDF), have warned civilians not to cooperate with the junta’s security forces. They have also issued statements threatening action against those who participate.
