A NATION PRESS GANGED 

Myanmar bans men from applying to work abroad as junta looks to boost military numbers

2 hours ago

All men aged 18 to 35 and women aged 18 to 27 must serve in the Myanmar military for up to two years.(Reuters: Ann Wang)

• In short? Myanmar men can no longer receive a permit to work abroad as the junta looks to boost numbers in its military.
• Since February, an estimated 100,000 men have applied for overseas work permits in a bid to escape conscription.
• What's next? The UN is dealing with a potential humanitarian crisis with at least 2.6 million people across Myanmar displaced by the war.

Myanmar's junta has suspended the issuing of permits for men to work abroad, it said, weeks after introducing a military conscription law that led to thousands trying to leave the country.

The junta is struggling to crush widespread armed opposition to its rule.

In February,  it announced that it would enforce a law allowing it to call up all men to serve in the military for at least two years.

The move sent thousands queuing for visas outside foreign embassies in Yangon and others crossing into neighbouring Thailand to escape the law, according to media reports.

Nearly 100,000 men applied for work permits in the three months after that, part of a wider exodus of people fleeing, the BBC reported.

A food delivery driver in Yangon has now lost the possibility of working abroad after a suspension in the processing of permits for men.(AFP: Sai Aung Main)

The labour ministry has "temporarily suspended" accepting applications from men who wish to work abroad, the ministry said in a statement posted by the junta's information team.

The measure was needed to "take more time to verify departure processes and according to other issues," it said, without giving details.

More than 4 million Myanmar nationals were working abroad in 2020, according to an estimate by the International Labour Organisation, citing figures from the then-government.

Analysts say many more work abroad off the books.

A rebel group poses with three prisoners near the border with China after inflicting a major defeat on Myanmar's military last December. (Supplied: The Kokang)

In addition to Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, South Korea, Japan and the United Arab Emirates are popular destinations for Myanmar nationals to find employment.

A 32-year-old man who had hoped to work in Japan said he had "lost hope" after this week's suspension of overseas work permits.

"[Everyone] has lost their hope for the future," he told BBC Burmese.

Myanmar’s junta declared mandatory military service for all young men and women in February.

"There are no job opportunities within the country and now they've also forbidden us from leaving the country. Are we not allowed to do anything?" he said.

In Myanmar, men aged between 18 and 35 are required by law to enlist for military service and women aged 18 to 27 are also obliged to sign up.

The United Nations estimates that at least 2.6 million people across the country have been displaced by the war.