(1.1).Authorities Benefiting from the Conscription Law
Under the pretext of exemption from military service, authorities are forcibly collecting a monthly conscription fee, starting from 10,000 Myanmar Kyats per household, in villages and urban wards across Mon State. In some areas, this collection exceeds 10,000 Kyats. This situation even involves collecting from elderly people in their homes who are not of conscription age. This monthly collection has become a fundamental “conscription fee,” allowing authorities to gain more financial benefits. In some areas, there are instances of exploitation where they demand more than the stipulated monthly fee from the public. Despite paying the conscription fee, the public faces a situation where they cannot feel secure about the young family members in their homes. Consequently, public anxiety is increasing as they don’t know when their family members who are eligible for military service might be called up. They are being pressured by fear, as described below, in a continuously circulating process.
(1.2)Forced Recruitment and Targeted Arrests of Youths
“The coup military junta is reportedly carrying out forced recruitment (portering) of youths by driving around villages in private cars and arbitrarily arresting them, using the movements of revolutionary forces as a pretext in townships like Kyaikhto and other cities. They often use pretexts such as prohibiting two men from riding a motorcycle at checkpoints or checking phones for VPNs to make arrests. Notably, if a VPN is not found during a phone check, they take the phone to the station, deliberately install fake VPN applications, and create false evidence to extort money, according to an anonymous man from the Mon region who spoke to RICE.
Furthermore, it is understood that at checkpoints on the Hpa-an-Myawaddy and Mon-Karen border, men traveling to Thailand for work are being targeted and arrested for military service. Most of those arrested are the primary income earners for their families, and their arrests not only impact the economic security of their family members but also lead to significant anxiety and social difficulties.”
Substitution for Military Service and Bribery
A situation has arisen where State Administration Council (SAC) troops are “trading people like commodities.” They apprehend young individuals on roads and in villages, then either demand money from their families for their release or conscript them into the military. For those conscripted into military service, if they wish to avoid deployment to the front lines, there are still instances where they can secure their freedom by paying bribes ranging from hundreds of thousands to millions of kyats. These funds flow to those close to the military and administrative authorities, who then use this money to pay other impoverished individuals to serve as substitutes for military recruitment or to forcibly apprehend them.
Additionally, a local resident from Ye Township reported an incident where they had to bribe authorities with a separate payment to exempt their son from military service.[1] Consequently, these loans remain unpaid today, further exacerbating existing livelihood difficulties and adding new social and economic burdens due to loan repayments. Some individuals become substitutes for military service due to domestic financial hardship, while the majority are unfairly apprehended and forcibly conscripted by the military junta. In Thaton, there were cases where families and individuals were unable to negotiate the release of unfairly apprehended youths with money; these individuals are reportedly being sent to battlefields in Kawkareik and Tanintharyi after completing military training.[2]
1.4. The Conscription Law and the Deterioration of Mon State’s Socio-Economic Structure
Young laborers in the Mon region are worried about being conscripted, leading them to frequently quit their jobs or leave the country in large numbers through irregular channels. These migrant workers embarking for foreign lands face dangers such as financial exploitation during their journey[3], arrest for undocumented status[4], lack of legal protection, and loss of labor rights.
The military junta has also exerted pressure on overseas workers through passport renewals and tax collection, linking these to the conscription law[5]. As a result, the exodus of young laborers has led to a shortage of workers in Mon State, creating problems due to the scarcity of young people in the local economy, social sector, and volunteer initiatives.
The long-term negative impacts on the local socio-economic structure due to the conscription law in Myanmar are as follows:
(a) Due to the scarcity of young workers, it has become difficult to even find laborers in the local production and service sectors, let alone pay them appropriate wages. Agricultural workplaces, handicraft industries, and small local businesses heavily rely on young workers. Without them, these businesses may face cessation of operations or a decline in productivity.[6]
(b) Secondly, due to the scarcity of young people, families are left with only the elderly and children, leading to difficulties in care and social welfare. Furthermore, the disappearance of youth participation in social activities and community development initiatives diminishes the vibrancy and innovative capacity of social fabric. Young people eligible for conscription remaining in Mon State live in constant fear and anxiety, leading to psychological harm. This phenomenon is observed to be reducing Mon State’s future human resources, affecting the vitality of villages, and gradually eroding the foundation of the local socio-economic life.
Difficulty in local business operations due to military activities
(2.1)Kyaukhto incident
- Due to aerial bombing by the junta, a grocery store at Chaung-saukt village junction, a major local trade route, was directly targeted with two bombs on June 18 and 19.[7] This attack resulted in the immediate death of the 38-year-old shop owner, Saw Kyaw Tint, and severe injuries to his wife, Naw Lu Lu Hpaw. The entire shop was burned to ashes, causing damage and loss of capital for local small-scale businesses and traders.
- On June 5, four 120mm artillery shells fired by LIB (44) directly landed and exploded in civilian workplaces (farmlands) near Hget Pyaw Taw village, killing 44-year-old Saw Sein Kular.[8] Due to such indiscriminate firing by the junta, local residents are now completely afraid to go to their farmlands and orchards, which are their main source of income, leading to a halt in their work.
(2.2)Ye Chaung Phya Incident
- At 1:00 AM on June 18, the military dropped two bombs on a camp for internally displaced persons (IDPs) in the Ye Chaung Phya area, controlled by the New Mon State Party. At least five homes were directly hit and damaged, including buildings constructed and donated by the Japan-based Nippon Foundation. (Since late May, residents of Kamone and Chaung Two-Kwa villages have been living in precarious conditions, alternating between halting their primary economic activity of gardening and resuming it for sustenance, due to having been bombed at least three times and constant surveillance by reconnaissance aircraft.) The “new technology” where bombs fall before the sound of the aircraft is heard has caused severe trauma among civilians, who are afraid to sleep at night. Those remaining in the villages can no longer work normally and are constantly preparing to flee, with clothes and provisions packed. Due to these concerns, the number of war-displaced people sheltering monasteries and gardens has risen from 700 to over 1,000, directly facing a humanitarian crisis[9] during the monsoon season with shortages of shelter, emergency food supplies, and medicine.
(2.3) Analysis of the Situation
Observing the events on the ground and the current political landscape, it is evident that during the period when military generals seized state power and the presidency, they not only failed to protect the lives and property of civilians but also actively targeted the public. The impact of these actions on the local Mon people can be viewed as follows:
- The use of high-impact bombs and heavy weapons without warning in civilian villages where there are no battles, internally displaced person (IDP) camps, workplaces for daily livelihoods (e.g., banana plantation village), and busy crossroads general stores (e.g., Chaungzon village) demonstrates a complete disregard for the right to life of citizens.
- Instead of creating stability in the basic social and economic lives of the people, as a good national leader should, they are directly pushing the public into a livelihood crisis by bombing and destroying trade routes and agricultural/plantation workplaces, which are the main sources of income for the locals.
- With over 1,000 displaced people, even during the monsoon season, when there is a lack of shelter, food, and medicine in the forests and mountains, no assistance or care is provided. Furthermore, the continued threats from reconnaissance aircraft prove that those currently in power are more focused on territorial control and making the people hostages rather than leading the nation.
Therefore, it can be concluded that these actions are autocratic, completely lacking in responsibility and accountability from a national leader, and are destroying the entire social and economic life of civilians to maintain their own power, without any guarantee of safety.
3.Health Situation
(3.1) Impact on the Legality of Charity Vehicles
In Myanmar, due to political and economic crises and weaknesses in the healthcare system, the general public primarily relies on community-based charity organizations. Although there are communities and villages within the country, the Ministry of Transport and Communications has announced that there are no plans to issue official licenses to illegal, unlicensed charity and ambulance vehicles.[10] While the military junta claims this is being done according to the law, this decision could lead to the following negative consequences:
- Most emergency ambulances are unlicensed, leading to restrictions on their movement due to the risk of arrest, which can result in patients not receiving timely medical treatment on the way and facing life-threatening situations.
- This creates a significant crisis for charitable organizations that are filling the gap in healthcare services untouched by authorities, making it difficult for them to sustain their operations long-term.
- Impoverished individuals who cannot afford hospital care at their own expense may find it increasingly difficult to access free emergency healthcare.
Therefore, instead of citing legal procedures, the current emergency situation should be considered, and special concessions or temporary operating licenses with reduced costs should be issued for charitable organizations and ambulances. This would bring them within the legal framework and allow ambulances to conduct rescue operations freely without fear of arrest. If charitable vehicles are to be restricted, government hospitals and emergency ambulance systems must be replaced with free or affordable options genuinely accessible to the public. Until such alternatives can be provided, restrictions on charitable vehicles should be lifted. It is recommended that a policy allowing charitable vehicles to operate legally be urgently reviewed and adopted, prioritizing humanitarian considerations over legalities for the sake of public safety.
[1] /2 This data sources were compiled by RICE researchers based on their field study of the ground situation in Mon State.
[3] Dawei Watch, June 21, 2026, Over 20 undocumented Myanmar nationals arrested in northern Thailand, click to follow Link
[4] Dawei Watch, June 24, 2026: Nearly 20 Myanmar nationals who paid 20,000 baht each in broker fees were arrested again in Thailand, click to follow Link
[5] DVB News, March 20, 2026, Passports will only be issued to those with a UID, click to follow Link
[6] This data sources were compiled by RICE researchers based on their field study of the ground situation in Mon State.
[7] Salween Times, June 19, 2026, Kyeikhto: Military Bombing Kills 5, Injures 10, click to follow Link
[8] Independent Mon News Agency, June 23, 2026, Military aircraft continuously attacked Kyaikto, locals fled, click to follow Link
[9] Independent Mon News Agency, June 22, 2026, Ye Chaung Phyar locals’ safety compromised due to air bombings despite absence of ground battles, click to follow Link
[10] Than Lwin Times, June 12, 2026, No plan to issue licenses for unlicensed charity vehicles. click to follow Link
