Because of the militia law, young people are trying to go abroad

Young people and their parents said that after the Military Council enacted the Militia Conscription Law, militia conscription groups were formed step by step, and that young people who do not want to be forced into military service are trying to leave abroad in a hurry these days.

A resident of Yangon, who did not want to be named for security reasons, told RFA on the morning of February 15 that they are trying harder to leave for Thailand, which is the closest to Myanmar, and many visa applicants are seen in front of the Thai embassy in Yangon these days.

"Yesterday at 5:30 AM, I saw a line of mainly young people, about fifty young people, standing in line at the Thai embassy. These days, there are more. And even if there are young people in the car, I can hear them talking to each other. It's almost as if I don't have to dress as a monk anymore. Even if I go abroad for the next month, I will definitely hear voices. They are all standing around."

The Thai embassy's statement on February 14 also stated that due to the large number of visa applicants during these days, only 400 applicants will be accepted per day. Tokens will be distributed before 8:30 a.m. office hours in a queue system, and the token will be taken over. He also warned that if there is any forgery, he will be blacklisted.

RFA sent an email to the Thai Embassy in Yangon to find out more about the matter, but has yet to receive a reply. Malaysia I have emailed the relevant embassies to find out the status of the application at the Singapore and American embassies, but have not yet received a response.

Cheap school fees in Thailand Chiang Mai's Buddhist University notified in English on February 14 that it was no longer accepting applicants from Myanmar because there were too many applicants.

A young man trying to work abroad told RFA that job opportunities are scarce due to the military's seizure of power in Myanmar, and that he has no future due to the prospect of serving in the militia.

"When there is a shortage of jobs, they do everything to go abroad. Now, when this law comes out again, we are in a very lost situation. I also heard that the permission to be sent abroad is closed. I also heard that demand (new jobs) are closed. It is not easy to go abroad. I don't know if you stay in the country, you don't have to do military service if you stay in the country. There are laws and such things that have come out. I am quite lost. Currently, many young people are experiencing this. I am very worried about this, and what can we do about it? It turned out to be a terrible dilemma."

Currently, he said that he canceled his intention to go to work in Japan and is investigating to visit the nearest Thailand via the border.

"It's not easy to go abroad. Even if you stay in the country, you don't have to serve in the military, there are laws like that, so you're pretty lost. "

General Zaw Min Tun, who was allowed to speak to the military council, said that the Central Organization for Militia Recruitment, He said on February 15th that after the formation of the regional and state groups, about fifty thousand people will be recruited each year after the Thingyan weekend in April.

"The first thing I want to strongly say is that we will not call everyone who joins. There is no reason to call. There is no reason for us to call up more than 50,000 people every year. Because according to the militia law, we must pay all those who will carry out the duty of national defense according to their rank, food, and benefits."

On February 15th, the response of the military's Viber group, which is used to ask and answer questions between the military news team and journalists, said that new recruits will be recruited at the rate of 5,000 per month and 60,000 per year.

Military Council Chairman General Min Aung Hlaing also called Myanmar ambassadors from foreign countries in Nay Pyi Taw on February 14 and explained about the militia law and reserve force law. During that meeting, he said that he would only recruit suitable new recruits within the age range specified by the Militia Law.

Dr. Sai Kyi Zin Soe, a political analyst, said that it is a bad move to try to target the 18- to 35-year-olds, who have the highest productivity in the country.

"Many people who don't want to fight the main war, and many people who have separate goals in life, do not want to be involved in this kind of conflict. It is natural that they avoid this kind of conflict. The current target age group of 18 to 35 is the most important, productive, and capable age group for the country. Educated young people, the age group that can learn. Use this kind of target in a conflict situation like this. Doing it for political advantage is seen as a very bad job."

In addition to the fact that the military has been arresting and torturing the people throughout the coup period, this kind of forced recruitment law has been enacted. Dr. Sai Kyi Zin Soe also said that it will hinder civil reconciliation and cause more scandals.

According to the US Central Intelligence Agency's (CIA) estimate last year, the Myanmar army may have between 150,000 and 400,000 soldiers, according to the Miami Herald. Of these, about twenty-one thousand were killed in armed conflicts following the coup. injury It also cited estimates from the Washington-based United States Institute of Peace (USIP) that said losses were due to arrests and defections.

The Indonesian Foreign Minister strengthened economic cooperation with nine friendly countries

Jakarta - Indonesian Minister of Foreign Affairs (Menlu) Retno Marsudi strengthened economic and protection cooperation with nine friendly countries whose new ambassadors handed over letters of credence to President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) through their ambassadors.

The nine friendly countries are Belarus, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Mauritania, Japan, Egypt, Bangladesh, Algeria, Uruguay and Portugal.

"Tomorrow I will receive one by one the nine ambassadors at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and we will further deepen his priority programs while he was ambassador to Indonesia," said Retno when giving a press statement which was watched via video on the Presidential Secretariat's YouTube account, Thursday. .

Foreign Minister Retno explained that economic protection and cooperation was one of the diplomatic priorities carried out by the Indonesian government towards nine countries.

Retno detailed that of the nine countries, Indonesia's trade experienced a surplus against six countries, namely Japan, Egypt, Algeria, Bangladesh, Belarus and Portugal.

Indonesia's trade with Japan, said Foreign Minister Retno, will reach 34 billion US dollars with a surplus of 3.8 billion US dollars in January-November 2023.

Indonesia is also trying to strengthen the trade agreement through a protocol on changes to the Indonesia-Japan Economic Partnership Agreement (IJEPA) which will soon be signed.

Meanwhile, Indonesia's trade with Egypt also reached 1.5 billion US dollars with a surplus of 1 billion US dollars. Egypt is Indonesia's third largest trading partner after Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.

Egypt is also an investment destination for Indonesian investors or "outbound investment", including PT Indofood and Kedaung Group.

Then with Algeria, Pertamina also collaborates a lot with that country.

In agricultural commodities, palm oil exports to Portugal were also recorded to increase significantly by 77 percent from 2019 to 2022.

"Meanwhile with Bangladesh and Belarus, we are currently negotiating for PTA and FTA," said the Indonesian Foreign Minister.