Mandatory military service: Wake up call for all the citizens of Burma (25 Jan 2011)





Burma's military government will introduce a draft for men aged between 18 and 45, and women aged between 18 and 35 will be required to serve up to three years in the Burmese military or face a lengthy jail term. The legislation was enacted on 17 December 2010 and requires all fit adults to register with local authorities for the draft by saying that “Every citizen has the duty to undergo military training in accord with the provisions of the law and to serve in the Armed Forces to defend the Union.”

Burma has been under successive military dictatorship for more than 50 years and people are suffering tremendously. The military maintains an extensive network of security forces ready to arrest anyone suspected of holding or expressing anti-authoritarian opinions in Burma.

Laws have been established that criminalize freedom of thought, expression, association, assembly and movement, thus legitimizing these arbitrary arrests and continued to arbitrarily detain people across Burma.

The military maintained complete control over the legal system and remained unbound by any legislation or constitutional provision for a fair trial, due process of law or any other rights. Military government denies basic rights to due process of law, a fair and public trial in political cases.

Burma's economic crisis continues to deepen under military rules and people earn on a wage of around $1 a day. Unemployment is rising dramatically every month while prices of consumer goods are escalating out of control while living standards of many Burmese are declining rapidly.

One child in three under the age of five is already suffering from malnutrition, less than 50 per cent of children will complete five years of education according to UN reports. In Burma, people face complete lack of access to basic social services such as health services, and water sanitation.

Under the military generals, poverty has soared and corruption is growing. Burma spends less than $3 per person per year on health and education – well below the World Health Organization recommended level of $40 per person.

Children under the age of 18 are about 40% of Burma population but junta does not consider children’s development and welfare as a priority. Instead junta used almost half of the state budget spending for the arm leaving very little for the vital education and health care systems.

Decades of junta’s mismanagement of the economy has resulted in an appalling economic situation forcing the parents to rely on the contribution of their children working in order to feed their families. Since 1990, government expenditure on civilian education has dropped by 70 percent, and the most recent statistics indicate that spending on education is currently equivalent to less than 1% of the GDP.

According to World Bank figures, Burma’s military government spends only $0.28 per year for every child in a public school. The Burmese government spends seven times less on education than on the armed forces.

By analyzing above figures and statistics, Burma is leading seemingly towards the fail state. Ordinary people are hard hit and they are struggling to survive day to day lives under junta.

Burma is the agricultural country made up of with peasants and farmers up to 70% of the 60 million populations. But, successive military regimes ignore the plights of the farmers but exploit them.

Ruling junta cannot even provide enough electricity for the citizens for decades now even though having discovered the massive oil and gas reserves and exporting them to neighboring countries.

When released from house arrest, Daw Aung San Suu Kyi emphasis establishing the youths’ networks so as to communicate and connect locally as well as internationally. Following her guidance and leadership, there are several networks established inside and outside Burma cooperating in the areas of promoting civil society organizations, humanitarian assistance, education, poverty alleviation and health care system etc.

Junta becomes too fearful of the dynamic cooperation of the youths synchronizing movement inside and outside Burma. In order to divert the attention, junta publicized the mandatory military service draft which in itself is the very solid example of the militarization of the nation.

In that scenario, Burma does not need mandatory military service. It is unwise to practice and not necessary at present. Instead, peace should be restored, civil war should be ceased, and poverty should be alleviated.

Burma Democratic Concern (BDCs) call for all the citizens of Burma to say “NO” to the regime enacting mandatory military service draft in Burma.

For more information please contact

Myo Thein [United Kingdom]
Phone: 00-44-78 7788 2386, 00-44-208 4939 137

U Khin Maung Win [United States]
Phone: 001-941-961-2622

Daw Khin Aye Aye Mar [United States]
Phone: 001 509 586 8309

U Tint Swe Thiha [United States]
Phone: 001-509-582-3261, 001-509-591-84 military law