Irrawaddy-Sept 26
“The Tatmadaw wants you,” used to be a familiar slogan on recruitment posters across Myanmar. Propaganda songs, like one which began: “Support the great Tatmadaw in every way to help it gain strength, never should we forget comrades who are our kin,” were played on the television and radio. But recruitment has broken down, forcing the regime to buy recruits since before the 2021 coup. Officers are being offered promotions and other incentives to find recruits, according to analysts. Battalions were reportedly offering 500,000 kyats to recruits in January and they increased the payment if they could not find the required numbers. By April they were offering 1.5 million kyats, according to defectors. “The price has doubled. I heard they are paying 2 to 3 million kyats but there are few applicants and battalions compete for recruits,” said former captain Lin Htet Aung. The ethnically Bamar areas and Rakhine State used to be the main source of recruits as jobs were often scarce but those areas are now resistance strongholds. In Rakhine State the Arakan Army rose to prominence in 2016 and the armed group is increasingly establishing a parallel administration in the state. Traditionally recruits must be citizens of Myanmar aged between 18 and 25 and educated to at least sixth grade with no criminal record. Graduates can apply for officer training until they turn 30. But the net has widened to include criminals, those with heavy debts and drug addicts, according to former personnel. “Battalion commanders have to find one recruit per month when they are at the rear,” said U Lin Htet Aung. “They search for indebted people and settle their debts in exchange for them signing up.” Read more at: https://www.irrawaddy.com/features/recruitment-crisis-bites-as-myanmar-junta-scrambles-to-fill-gaps-in-ranks.html
