Myanmar junta bans possible conscripts from foreign travel

YANGON: Myanmar´s embattled junta has banned anyone eligible for military conscription from leaving the country without permission, as it seeks to shore up its forces fighting rebel groups opposed to its rule.

The junta has lost control of swathes of the country to ethnic minority armed groups and other opposition forces in the civil war triggered by its coup d´etat four years ago.

A long-dormant conscription law was enforced last year as the army reeled from a string of battlefield defeats to ethnic armed groups and civilian “People´s Defence Forces” seeking to oust it from power.

A bylaw passed late last month that has only just come to light imposes new restrictions on those eligible to be called up -- men aged 18-35 and women aged 18-27.

“The person who receives the order shall not be allowed to leave for foreign countries without obtaining the permission of the Central Body,” section 51 of the bylaw says.

The rule applies to those who have been called up and also those waiting for the outcome of appeals for exemption, reduction, or postponement of military service.

Breaking the rules can bring a jail sentence of up to three years.

The military service law, authored by a previous junta in 2010 but brought into force only in February last year, requires those called up to serve for at least two years.

It also has a stipulation that during a state of emergency, the terms of service can be extended up to five years, and those ignoring a summons to serve can be jailed for the same period.