In Mudon Township, Mon State, local ward and village administration committees have, since July, been going house-to-house collecting money based on the number of military age individuals in each household.
The payments are said to be for hiring substitutes for those living abroad or those unwilling to serve in the military. Residents report that households are charged between 10,000 and 30,000 kyats for each young person of military service age. Even families facing financial difficulties are still making these payments.
Previously, the rate was a flat 10,000 kyats per household. It is based on the number of military-age people listed in the household registration, which has increased the financial burden for many. This report compiles the voices of Mudon residents about the issue.
A young Mon woman from Mudon Township
“They still came to collect, even as recently as yesterday. Last month, they collected only 10,000 kyats per house in our village. This month, they’ve changed to collecting based on the number of people. There are three of us in my house. For females aged 18 to 27, it’s 10,000 kyats each; for males up to age 35, it’s up to 15,000 kyats each. Since we have to pay monthly, families with many children can pay as much as 80,000 kyats. It’s not a small amount—we have to borrow money to pay. Our village has only just over 100 households, so it depends on the number of households. Houses with more men get charged more. If the income is low, there’s no way to afford it every month. They’ve even threatened us, saying if we don’t pay, they’ll take our sons. It’s the village chairmen who come to collect. Since they hire substitutes, each village has to provide one person. Hiring costs have reached 6 million kyats. Some families don’t know much about conscription, so arguments break out when collectors come. In the end, they pay because they fear their sons will be taken.”
A man from Kamawet Town
“I don’t want things like this to happen. But now that it has, what choice do we have? They already collected last month, and they’re collecting again this month. Some villages have already paid three months in advance. In Wae Yat, they collected at a rate of 5,000 kyats per month for three months. Now they’re collecting more, saying hiring substitutes has become more expensive. The neighborhoods—Sein Taung, Wae Yat, and Htaw Kae—are all paying. If they demand it, we have to pay. Everyone is struggling, but we cannot avoid this. Each village has to provide one substitute, just as they say. The people stepping in as substitutes are asking for higher pay, so the villages have to collect more money. In the end, we just pay as we’re told.”
A man living in Mudon town
“On the 26th, the administrative teams from Ward No. 4 called a meeting with residents about the conscription issue. Previously, up to Batch 16, they had managed without collecting money from the public. But now, due to difficulties finding recruits, they said a substitute for military service costs 5 million kyats, so they proposed collecting 10,000 kyats per household to cover the cost. It’s true that some villages in Mudon Township didn’t collect before, and the administration heads handled it themselves. But now, with more batches being called, they can’t manage anymore.”
It is also learned from ward and village administrators and those close to them that, for the upcoming Military Service Training Batch 16, the junta has ordered each ward and village in Mudon Township to provide exactly two military recruits.
Similarly, in other townships across Mon State, ward and village administrators are under pressure from the junta to urgently find new recruits for Batch 16, leading to an intense search for those who can be sent to serve.
