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Following a major military setback in recent months, Myanmar’s military announced its intention to enforce a conscription law enacted in 2010 for the first time, requiring young people to serve in the military for at least two years. The Arakan Army (AA) has suffered massive territorial losses in Rakhine State since November 2023, and the military is facing a severe manpower shortage and is seeking to replenish its forces.
Amid the ongoing severe security situation, the military government announced that if Rohingya men join the army, each will receive a bag of rice, a citizen identity card and a monthly salary of 150,000 kyats ($41). The Rohingya community strongly opposes this crackdown. Many condemned this as a reprehensible attempt to use them as human shields. In a controversial move, Myanmar’s military issued a directive under the People’s Liberation Army Service Act to recruit soldiers directly from Rohingya Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) camps in Sittwe. The order, allegedly dated January 20, 2024, directed the camp management committees to select personnel from each camp to intensify military operations against the Arakan Army.
On February 10, spokesperson Major General Zuo revealed that the People’s Army Service Law will be immediately applied. The law stipulates that individuals aged 18 to 45 for men and 18 to 35 for women can enlist in the army for a term of two years, which can be extended to five years in times of national crisis. One particularly controversial measure involves a directive issued by the Myanmar military under provisions of the People’s Liberation Army Service Act to recruit soldiers directly from the Rohingya Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) camp in Sittwe.
This decision and the junta’s covert operations will have dire consequences for the Rohingya people. It has become another tool of torture, repression and brutality against the Rohingya people in Myanmar. Some 1.2 million ethnic Rohingya refugees have fled Myanmar since 2017 due to military-led clearance operations and have sought asylum in Bangladesh. In Myanmar, another 630,000 Rohingya people are classified as stateless by the United Nations. This group includes people living in internally displaced persons (IDP) camps and whose movement is restricted within Rakhine State. More than 13 million people out of the country’s 54 million people are eligible to be drafted into the army, and the draft is scheduled to be implemented in late April 2024. The target is to recruit about 60,000 soldiers per year, with about 5,000 recruits recruited in batches.
Recruiting Uncertainty
One of the major uncertainties surrounding the army’s recruitment drive is the number of Rohingya forced to serve. This lack of clarity has fueled anxieties within the Rohingya community and undermined their prospects for voluntary repatriation to Myanmar. The junta’s selective recruitment of Muslims, particularly Rohingya, into military service has raised concerns that it will exacerbate communal tensions in Myanmar’s already volatile socio-political landscape. By explicitly targeting Muslim recruitment, the military regime risks deepening existing divisions and exacerbating sectarian conflict in the country.
Rohingya Muslims are a marginalized and persecuted minority, and recruitment could further alienate them from mainstream society and exacerbate their already precarious situation. The military’s exploitation of the Rohingya people for its own strategic interests not only violates their rights but also undermines reconciliation and peacebuilding efforts in Myanmar.
The junta’s recruitment campaign risks legitimizing and perpetuating systemic discrimination against the Rohingya, reinforcing their status as second-class citizens and perpetuating their statelessness. The military regime has denied the Rohingya equal opportunities to acquire citizenship and participate in civil life, perpetuating their marginalization and exclusion from society, fueling resentment and alienation.
The military regime’s targeting of Muslims, particularly the Rohingya, for recruitment not only perpetuates discrimination and marginalization, but also risks exacerbating communal tensions and exacerbating future conflict in Myanmar. It is necessary for the international community to condemn this discriminatory practice and advocate for the protection of the rights and dignity of all ethnic groups in Myanmar.
Despite recruitment efforts, a specific timetable for the start of the training program has not yet been provided. If the new recruits are trained, they will join the military government forces to guard the Kyaukpyu route and may face combat situations. Rohingya internally displaced persons (IDPs) express fear of military service but are confined to camps due to the presence of the surrounding junta, suggesting that forced conscription is unrealistic and coercive.
Impact of Recruitment Strategies
The long-term implications of this recruitment strategy are deeply concerning, as it has the potential to sow the seeds of future conflict and instability in Myanmar. The junta’s discriminatory policies have exacerbated communal tensions and deepened divisions within society, undermining prospects for sustainable peace and reconciliation in the country.
Such discriminatory recruitment tactics not only perpetuate discrimination against the Rohingya but also risk inflaming communal sentiments among Myanmar’s various ethnic and religious groups. Perceptions of favoring Muslims in the recruitment process could breed resentment among other communities, leading to increased inter-group animosity and possible outbreaks of violence.
The junta’s decision to force the Rohingya into military service is another retrograde step that threatens to undermine the Rohingya’s efforts for peace, reconciliation and voluntary repatriation. The coercive nature of this measure further erodes trust between the Rohingya community and the Myanmar government, hampering progress in the sustainable repatriation process. It is necessary for the international community to condemn this coercive measure and advocate for the protection of the rights and dignity of the Rohingya people.
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