Myanmar Local Officials Extort Exorbitant Fees from Civilians to Evade Forced Conscription

Local administrators in central Myanmar are extorting exorbitant fees from families seeking to shield their relatives from forced military conscription, according to local sources. Village administrators in Meiktila, Thazi, and Pyawbwe townships have doubled the exemption fees collected under the military junta’s National Service Law. Families with one draft-eligible male are now forced to pay 120,000 kyats, while households with three or four eligible men face demands of 300,000 and 400,000 kyats, respectively. The new rates, implemented in mid-August, must now be paid every four months.