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SOUTHERN SHAN STATE – In some villages in Lawksawk Township, the military council troops have been stationed and collecting 20,000 kyats of military expenses per house.
Since March 18, ten soldiers have been deployed at each village of Papan, Lwelkoe, Painekone and Pingphyit, collecting military expenses from one house to another.
A resident said, “They said it was for military expenditure. All of us are in a difficult situation but had to pay for it. The administrator himself is collecting the money. Some houses had to take out loans to pay for it.”
At Kaungbo, Lwelkoe, Yayaye and Ganaingkyer Villages where young men had to draw lots to be enlisted for military service, the villagers had to pay up to 50,000 kyats for replacements. However, if they could not find men to replace, all eligible men had to draw lots to be enlisted.
A resident of Kaungbo Village said, “It is not easy to hire replacements these days unless he is struggling very hard and in a difficult condition. Nobody wants to die. If the administrators could collect 50,000 per house, they will get millions of kyats,” he said.
It is said that since last month, in Lawksawk Town and some villages, the staff of the Immigration and Population Department (Lawaka) under the junta council have been exchanging smart cards for previous national registration cards (NRCs) to get relevant information on the eligible population for military service.
In addition, for those planning to travel, the administrators are issuing recommendation letters at a rate of 5,000 kyats, according to the locals.